A Night of Deep Sleep

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) said that on the night right before the battle, all of them were asleep, all of them fell asleep — and this being the night right before the battle, one would expect people to be anxious, worried, afraid, thinking a great deal. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said, "You could look at any one of us, and we were all in deep sleep." That is why the scholars say that sleeping in battle, or before battle, is a sign of īmān, and sleeping in ṣalāh, or during ṣalāh, is a sign of hypocrisy. The scholars say that feeling drowsiness before battle, or in battle, is a sign of īmān, because it shows the confidence of the heart, while feeling drowsiness or falling asleep in ṣalāh is a sign of hypocrisy — as Allah says about the hypocrites, that when they go to pray, they go to pray in a state of laziness, and they do not mention the name of Allah frequently. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib says the only one who was awake was the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), standing and making duʿāʾ.