# The proper Muslim way of sleeping **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985 "2005-01-21T22:01:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aegypt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@aegypt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aegypt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/1 "2005-01-21T22:01:54Z")
From an [article](http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,337867,00.html) about the two abducted French journalists in Iraq: "Their jailers told them how to sleep in the proper Muslim way, prohibited them from smoking as it is against Muslim practices and said they were allowed to pray, but only in the Muslim manner. " So, what is the proper Muslim way of sleeping? ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/2 "2005-01-21T22:12:10Z")
How could a Muslim control what he does after falling asleep? ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/3 "2005-01-21T22:24:09Z")
t is Muslim law to rise early to say your prayers. You aren’t supposed to sleep on your back, and you are to lie on your right side. And your head has to point a certain direction. Those Muslims are fucking nutcases. Music is prohibited, according to some Muslim scholars. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/4 "2005-01-21T22:26:22Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > How could a Muslim control what he does after falling asleep? That is Allah’s job. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/5 "2005-01-21T22:26:46Z")
> [@ninetypercent](#): > > Those Muslims are fucking nutcases. :rolleyes: I swear the right people are never on the hijacked aircraft… ---
**Author:** ![tygerbryght](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@tygerbryght](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygerbryght)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/6 "2005-01-21T22:40:55Z")
> [@aegypt](#): > > … > "Their jailers told them how to sleep in the proper Muslim way, **prohibited them from smoking** as it is against Muslim practices and said they were allowed to pray, but only in the Muslim manner. " (bolding mine) 😕😕😕 The most enthsiastic nicotine addicts I’ve ever seen were (Iraqi) Muslims. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/7 "2005-01-21T22:51:22Z")
> [@ninetypercent](#): > > t is Muslim law to rise early to say your prayers. You aren’t supposed to sleep on your back, and you are to lie on your right side. And your head has to point a certain direction. Did the Prophet just really hate people who snored or is there a reason for this? And, which direction? Toward Mecca? Due North? ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/8 "2005-01-21T22:53:38Z")
> [@tygerbryght](#): > > (bolding mine) > > 😕😕😕 > The most enthsiastic nicotine addicts I’ve ever seen were (Iraqi) Muslims. > :smack: Yes, it is considered _haram_. Some amount of tobacco use is permitted, but not smoking; it is bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/9 "2005-01-21T22:59:03Z")
> [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > Did the Prophet just really hate people who snored or is there a reason for this? > And, which direction? Toward Mecca? Due North? Whichever direction the Kaaba is. That is the direction you want to face while sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/10 "2005-01-21T23:01:29Z")
> [@ninetypercent](#): > > Those Muslims are fucking nutcases. **ninetypercent**. Two points: first, you are in GQ. Improper response. Second, I’m sure not all Muslims are nutcases, just as there are a few dopers who aren’t. And many who are. If you were specifically talking about the captors in the story, then make it clear. Let’s keep down the insults. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/11 "2005-01-21T23:06:38Z")
Just to save some time for those of us who have to look things up: [The Kaaba or Ka’aba](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaba), in the mosque known as Masjid al Haram in Mecca (Makkah), is one of the holy places of Islam, according to Wikipedia. [Haram is Arabic for “inviolate zones”,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haram) an important aspect of urban planning, also according to Wikipedia. Interestingly, a quick google search seems to indicate modern Muslims think Haram is forbidden intoxicants. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/12 "2005-01-21T23:30:17Z")
Smoking both cigarettes and sheesha/narghila/hubble bubble (water pipes) are enormously popular in the much of the Muslim world. Most Muslims don’t at all regard it _haram_ (forbidden) but rather “disliked.” As a practical matter this is ignored, just as any number of biblical pronouncements are in our society. Islam has any number of sects and scholars making a range of different pronouncements on any given issue. The (rather extreme) ones I referenced suggesting that smoking was haram, however, made a general pronouncement against all tobacco use [on the grounds that it’s harmful to the body and addictive](http://www.muslimtents.com/aminahsworld/Smoking.html), not just smoking: > [@](#): > > As indicated before, the prohibition of smoking is not restricted to cigarettes, but applies as well to other objects that have similar effects such as cigars, pipes, water-pipes, chewing tobacco or sniffing tobacco, etc. I guess this makes C. Everett Koop a _fucking nutjob_ too. Not that I’ve ever seen anyone with chaw or snuff in the Middle East. It’s getting to the point where the SDMB needs a whole Islam section. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/13 "2005-01-21T23:38:39Z")
> [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > Haram is Arabic for “inviolate zones”, an important aspect of urban planning, also according to Wikipedia. Interestingly, a quick google search seems to indicate modern Muslims think Haram is forbidden intoxicants. Haram has different but related meanings in context; the general root is “restricted” or “forbidden.” That which is judged off-limits by (a) religious scholar(s) is haram, thus it’s exactly the opposite: intoxicants (which are necessarily forbidden, this is redundancy) fall into the general category of haram. In general, if I were looking at websites by Muslims about Islam and Wikipedia in order to learn what an Arabic word meant, I’d stick with the Islamic sites. We get the word _harem_ via haram, by the by, seeing as that’s where the women are off-limits to you, as an interloper. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/14 "2005-01-21T23:43:50Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > **ninetypercent**. > > Let’s keep down the insults. > > **samclem** GQ moderator I’m talking about those extremist Muslims. My apologies to any who were, are, or will be offended by my comment. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/15 "2005-01-22T02:13:52Z")
> [@ninetypercent](#): > > I’m talking about those extremist Muslims. My apologies to any who were, are, or will be offended by my comment. Excuse me. You were not paying attention. This is **GQ** and you will not hurl obscenities at others, regardless of your views of them. > [@Crandolph](#): > > I swear the right people are never on the hijacked aircraft… And declarations that other posters should have died in tragic events are also out of line in this Forum. We have a perfectly serviceable **BBQ Pit** if you feel the need to excoriate. [/Moderator Mode] ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/16 "2005-01-22T02:14:49Z")
> [@ninetypercent](#): > > Those Muslims are fucking nutcases. Music is prohibited, according to some Muslim scholars. How rude is this? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/17 "2005-01-22T02:15:51Z")
_Sigh_…I’m always late to the party. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/18 "2005-01-22T03:36:12Z")
> [@Crandolph](#): > > It’s getting to the point where the SDMB needs a whole Islam section. We’ve had long threads attempting to hash out Islamic views before, including these: > **[Ask the Muslim Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=87474)** > > Got any questions about Islam or Muslims, I’ll field them the best I know how. 🙂 > **[Ask the Muslim Guy, Part Deux](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=92968)** > > Because the other thread was too long. In the first of which much to my shame I find myself to have been a purveyor of faulty information when I referred to the Taliban as Wahabi and Hanbali ( when really they’re Deobandi and Hanafi, even if the leadership was a bit hybrid being heavily influenced by Wahabi preachers ), an error I’ve since corrected others about. Also I failed to properly cite Caesar E. Farah, even though I lifted virtually all of one post on pre-Islamic Arabia from him. Ah, well - failures of youth. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/19 "2005-01-22T04:02:32Z")
> [@](#): > > You aren’t supposed to sleep on your back, and you are to lie on your right side. And your head has to point a certain direction. Actually, it’s your stomach that you’re not supposed to sleep on. There’s a hadith somewhere that says that the people in hell will lay like that. It’s not haram, though, just makrooh – there’s no punishment for doing it, but there is reward for not doing it. And the sunnah is for one to lay on one’s right side, facing qibla, i.e. towards Makkah. > [@](#): > > Music is prohibited, according to some Muslim scholars. There are several hadiths that say that music is prohibited, musical instruments should be destroyed, those who listen to a songstress will have molten lead poured into their ears in hell, etc. There are also hadiths that say that it’s alright for young girls to sing and play a hand drum on the two `Eids. Most shari’ah theoreticians have prohibited music, but in practice it’s formed a huge part of Islamic culture. Interestingly, Qur’anic recitation and the adhaan and iqaamah are not considered music. ---
**Author:** ![ninetypercent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@ninetypercent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninetypercent)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985/20 "2005-01-22T16:17:01Z")
> [@yBeayf](#): > > Actually, it’s your stomach that you’re not supposed to sleep on. There’s a hadith somewhere that says that the people in hell will lay like that. It’s not haram, though, just makrooh – there’s no punishment for doing it, but there is reward for not doing it. And the sunnah is for one to lay on one’s right side, facing qibla, i.e. towards Makkah. Thanks for the correction. It is preferable to avoid sleeping on your stomach, then. Who sleeps on their stomach, anyway? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-muslim-way-of-sleeping/285985.md?page=2)