What Happens to Our Soul When We Sleep? A Brief Look at the Teachings of Different Religions

Every morning we face the same dilemma, whether to stay under the bedsheets comfortably and carry on sleeping for some more time or to launch ourselves out of bed and face the challenges that the day might bring. We are also quite well aware of what the human body goes through during sleep.

Be that as it may, have you ever wondered what happens to our soul while we are asleep? Has it ever occurred to you where your soul may or may not be while you are sleeping like a baby? Different religions around the world provide different teachings and explanations regarding this phenomenon. In this feature, we will take a brief look at the teachings of three of the world’s major religions about what happens to our soul when we sleep.

The sacred scriptures of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have all talked about the relationship between our soul and sleep quite comprehensively. There is some overlap in the teachings of the three religions while there are some differences as well. Take a look at the explanations of each below.

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Islam

In Islam, sleep is considered as half death. This is because Islam teaches its followers that when they sleep at night, their souls return to the Almighty Creator of the universe. According to verse 6:60 in the Quran,

And it is He who takes your souls by night and knows what you have committed by day. Then He revives you therein that a specified term may be fulfilled. Then to Him will be your return; then He will inform you about what you used to do

In Islam, sleep is regarded as a time for judgement, wherein the soul travels to Allah Almighty who takes stock of the individual’s deeds. As has been reported in the Hadith (Sayings of Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H) of Al-Bara,

This is that the soul ascends into the heavens and Allah says, “Return my servant to the earth, for verily, I have created them from it, I return them into it, and from it I will bring them out at another time”

The Quran describes how man was created by Allah Almighty by blowing a soul into his body. This was done to permanently connect man to the Supreme Being. When a person goes to sleep, the soul leaves the body and returns to the Creator.

On one occasion, the Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H was asked whether people sleep in Heaven. His response was,

Sleep is the brother of death. People of Heaven do not sleep

To sum it up, Islam teaches its followers to recite verses of gratitude to the Almighty for blessing them with the wonderful gift of life. One such prayer of gratitude is,

Praise is to Allah who gives us life after He has caused us to die [sleep] and to Him is the return

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Judaism

In a somewhat similar way to what Islam teaches its followers, Judaism also espouses the notion that sleep is related to death. According to a verse from Judaism’s holy book,

Sleep is a taste of death

At another place,

when they sleep their souls ascend to Him… in the morning He restores one’s soul to everyone

Similar to what Islam maintains, Judaism teaches its followers that their souls leave their body when they sleep and go to the Lord. The difference of teaching is in what happens to the soul once it leaves the sleeping human body. In Judaism, the soul leaves the body during sleep to connect with the Source where it is spiritually “refreshed.” This refreshed and recharged soul then returns to the human body which becomes spiritually rejuvenated

According to one verse,

The soul fills the body, and when man sleeps it ascends and draws life for him from above

Christianity

In Christian traditions, the word “sleep” is used to literally mean the normal, unconscious state of the human body. At other places, it is used as a symbol.

Here again, sleep is espoused to have a similar relationship with death as has been portrayed by Islam and Judaism. In both the Old Testament and New Testament, sleep is often described as a sort of classification for death. In one verse, the following supplication has been implored to the Lord,

Consider and answer me, O Jehovah my God: Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death

Here as well, the basic teaching is that the soul leaves your body when you fall asleep and travels to the Creator.

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There is an overlap in the beliefs promoted by all three religions when it comes to the relationship between your soul and sleep. Particularly between Islam and Judaism, the teachings have a number of similarities. The beliefs espoused by Christianity, on the other hand, are slightly more different even though the basic idea remains similar. This is primarily because Christian scriptures have used the word “sleep” in a couple of different connotations including with regard to laziness and spiritual apathy.