Mawlana Ruminates On Sleep

During sleep, the spirit roams free, rejoicing:
The wicked escape the prison of their nature,
Convicts, too, escape the trauma of their confinement.
All who inhabit the wide world experience release from the straits
Of worldly existence: a laughter that, in truth, is weeping,
A glory that, in truth, is naught but shame.

[Masnavi, Bk. 3: 3541-4, Nicholson translation uncaged].

The sleep of the Friends of God is a kingdom, dear reader;
A kingdom of communion with a reality Divine:
Their "sleep" is nothing less than wakefulness,
As the life of this world is nothing but a dream.

Recall the companions of the Cave: how they slept,
Secure in God's care. That's how it is with God's Friends:
Nothing can enclose them--no prison, no planet, no body,
Not even death.

[Masnavi, Bk. 3: 3553-5, Nicholson translation uncaged].