How many hours is it permissible for a person to sleep?

 

How many hours is it permissible for a person to sleep?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

Sleep is one of the signs of Allaah in this universe, as
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And among His Signs is your sleep by night and by day,
and your seeking of His Bounty. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a
people who listen”

[al-Room 30:23]. 

In principle, sleeping is to be at night, but sleeping during
the day is also possible. Allaah has created the day for work and going out
seeking provision, and He has created the night for rest; so sleep takes
place at night and work during the day. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“And it is He Who makes the night a covering for you, and
the sleep (as) a repose, and makes the day Nushoor (i.e. getting up and
going about here and there for daily work, after one’s sleep at night or
like resurrection after one’s death)”

[al-Furqaan 25:47] 

“See they not that We have made the night for them to rest
therein, and the day sight‑giving? Verily, in this are Ayaat (proofs,
evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) for the people who
believe”

[al-Naml 27:86] 

“And We have made your sleep as a thing for rest.

10. And We have made the night as a covering (through its
darkness),

11. And We have made the day for livelihood”

[al-Naba’ 78:9-11]. 

Imam Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

i.e., among the signs is that which has been created for you
of sleep by night and by day, in which you get rest and stillness, and
exhaustion and tiredness are taken away; and wakefulness and striving for
one’s livelihood have been ordained during the day. 

Tafseer Ibn Katheer (6/310). 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said:  

“And We have made your sleep as a thing for rest”
means: to put an end to tiredness, because sleep puts an end to that which
comes before it of tiredness, and a person renews his energy thereby for
what lies ahead. Hence you see that if a man becomes tired and sleeps, he is
refreshed and his energy is renewed. This is a blessing and it is also one
of the signs of Allaah, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And among His Signs is your sleep by night and by day,
and your seeking of His Bounty”

[al-Room 30:23]. 

“And We have made the day for livelihood” i.e., living
whereby people seek their provision according to their status and
circumstances. This is the blessing of Allaah upon His slaves. 

Tafseer Juz’a ‘Amma, p. 22, 23. 

Secondly: 

There is nothing in sharee’ah to suggest that a Muslim has to
sleep at a certain time and wake up at a certain time, and Islam does not
tell the Muslim to sleep a certain number of hours. Rather that depends on
people’s ages and natures, and how much rest their bodies need, and it also
depends on the nature of their work. One who works at night will sleep more
during the day and one who works during the day will sleep more at night.
Sleep during the winter is different than sleep during the summer and so
on. 

The natural average length of sleep is between 5 and 8 hours
every day. If someone sleeps less than that because he is able to put up
with that, or someone sleeps more than that because his body needs that,
there is nothing wrong with that. What matters is that Islam obliges the
Muslim to observe the times of prayer, at which time he should be awake so
that he can perform the act of worship in the proper manner and with energy.
If his body needs rest and sleep, he should not resist that. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Safaareeni (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: 

It is not right to resist sleep a great deal and stay up late
often. Resisting and avoiding sleep will lead to other problems such as bad
moods, muddled thinking, and exhaustion that prevents one from understanding
and working properly, and it can lead to many fatal illnesses.  

Creation is based on balance and whoever adheres to
moderation has achieved all goodness. In al-Adaab al-Kubra, one of
the wise men said: Drowsiness takes away reason, but sleep increases it. 

Sleep is one of the blessings that Allaah bestows upon His
slaves, hence He reminds them of it in His Book. 

Ghadha’ al-Albaab fi Sharh Manzoomat al-Adaab
(2/359). 

It should be noted that sleeping more than the body needs
will make one lazy in worship and will make one slow in thinking. Hence
there are some sayings of the salaf which criticize sleeping too much. 

Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyaad (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
There are two qualities that harden the heart: sleeping too much and eating
too much. 

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

As for the five things that corrupt the heart, they are those
that are referred to: mixing too much with people, wishful thinking, being
attached to anything other than Allaah, eating one’s fill, and sleeping.
These five are the greatest corrupters of the heart. 

Madaarij al-Saalikeen (1/453). 

He explained that which has to do with sleep and said: 

The fifth corrupter is: sleeping too much, for it deadens the
heart, makes the body heavy, wastes time, and generates a great deal of
carelessness and laziness. Some of it is very makrooh and some is harmful
and brings no benefit to the body. 

The most beneficial of sleep is that which comes when the
need for it is greatest. Sleeping at the beginning of the night is better
than at the end, and sleeping in the middle of the day is better than
sleeping at the beginning or end of the day. The closer sleep is to either
the beginning or end of the day, the less beneficial it is and the more
harmful, especially sleeping at ‘Asr time, and sleeping at the beginning of
the day, except in the case of one who has stayed up late. Among makrooh
kinds of sleep in their view is sleeping between Fajr prayer and sunrise,
because that is a precious time. This time is of great benefit for those who
are devoted to Allaah; even if they had been worshipping all night, they
would not allow themselves to stop at that time until the sun has risen,
because it is the beginning of the day, when provision comes down and is
divided, and blessings are bestowed. That is the beginning of the day and
the whole day depends on what happens during that time, no one should sleep
at that time unless he is compelled to. 

To sum up: the best and most beneficial of sleep is sleep
during the first half of the night, and the last sixth, which is equivalent
to eight hours. This is the best sleep according to doctors. Anything more
or less than that will have a proportionately detrimental effect on the
body, in their view. 

Another kind of sleep that is of no benefit is sleeping
straight after sunset, until the twilight has disappeared. The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) disliked that,
therefore it is makrooh according to sharee’ah and is naturally disliked.
Just as sleeping too much leads to these problems, resisting and avoiding
sleep will lead to other problems such as bad moods, muddled thinking, and
exhaustion that prevents one from understanding and working properly, and it
can lead to many fatal illnesses, whereby a person will not be able to think
properly and will feel physically weak. Creation is based on balance and
whoever adheres to moderation has achieved all goodness.   

And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek. 

Madaarij al-Saalikeen (1/459,
460). 

And Allaah is the Source of strength.