The Nature of Sleep in the Qur'an: The Perspective of Al Mishbah Exegesis and Its Relevance to Mental Health

Sleep is a natural human phenomenon that plays an important role inmaintaining physical and psychological balance. The Qur'an discussessleep in several verses (including QS. Al-An'am: 60, Az-Zumar: 42, Al-Furqan: 47, and Ar-Rum: 23), describing it as a divine system(sunnatullah) and a manifestation of Allah's mercy, not merely abiological need. This study aims to examine the essence of sleep fromthe perspective of the Qur'an based on M. Quraish Shihab's Tafsir Al-Mishbah and analyze its relevance to contemporary health psychology.The research uses a qualitative method with a thematic (maudhu'i)approach, through the collection of Qur'anic verses related to sleep,analysis of their semantic structure and context, and their relationshipwith psychological theories about rest, stress regulation, and emotionalrecovery. The results show that Tafsir Al-Mishbah interprets sleep as asign of Allah's power and human dependence, representing a temporarywithdrawal of consciousness or “little death” (al-mawt al-sughra). Sleepalso functions as a means of spiritual renewal that brings tranquility(sukūn) and psychological recovery. These findings are consistent withthe views of health psychology and neuroscience regarding therestorative role of sleep. This studyconfirms the Qur'an's view ofphysical and spiritual harmony and offers an interdisciplinaryframework that connects Qur'anic interpretation with modern mentalhealth discourse.