ABSTRACT
The study of consciousness has fascinated philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists in the understanding of the nature and process of consciousness. Koch refers to consciousness as the subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment. It is the total awareness of our cognitions, memories, feelings, emotions, sensations and the environs. In order to experience consciousness, one needs to be wide-awake and mindful. Despite consciousness being a fact and fundamental to human nature, it remains an elusive concept in our scientific view of the world. Consciousness, is the subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment. Sleep consists of two major stages, REM and non-REM sleep, and non-REM sleep has three substages, known as stages N1, N2 and N3. Sleep is essential for adequate functioning during the day, and sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnoea and narcolepsy. Dreams occur primarily during REM sleep and some theories of dreaming, such Freud’s, are based on the content of the dreams. The Qur’an describes different types of sleep, and these correspond with different sleep stages identified by modern sleep scientists.
Prophet Muhammad (https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780429354762/7fb59413-c59c-4354-a39b-75035eb649db/content/inline1_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>) stressed the importance of sleep for good health. A nap (Qailulah) is a well-established practice in Islamic culture. Modern sleep scientists acknowledge the beneficial effect of short naps. Dream interpretation is an established science in the Islamic tradition. In Islam, an individual will not be held accountable for deeds during sleep.
