Daily Times

There has been great debate between sleep paralysis in science and Al Kaboos – the Jinn by religious people. Quoting from the film ‘Fight Club’ directed by David Fincher, “We have no great war. No great depression. Our great war’s a spiritual war and our great depression is our lives.”

Truly, we have nothing to fear from famine, plague or wars in this era, but our greatest fear is our own depression. Depression has become great joy and people are deliberately finding a way to confront it, whether by reading poetry of Jaun Elia or listening to sad songs.

Let us discuss first what sleep paralysis is. It’s a frightening phenomenon in which a person is unable to move or speak but still is aware of his/her surroundings. Science says sleep paralysis occurs when a person is depressed and we are living in an era where around 300 million people, according to the World Health Organisation, are distressed. Mentally disturbance and exotic thoughts entrenched in mind leads to sleep paralysis. Additionally science argues that sleep paralysis happen when our half part of brain is active and other half in deep slumber.

Let us discuss first what sleep paralysis is. It’s a frightening phenomenon in which a person is unable to move or speak but still is aware of his/her surroundings. Science says sleep paralysis occurs when a person is depressed and we are living in an era where around 300 million people, according to the World Health Organisation, are distressed

Contrary in Islam it is believed that some sort of Jin “Al Kaboos” descends on your chest, and makes every part of your torso unmovable, and your screams inaudible. The Jin tends to strangle you in your sleep, you will get suffocated and something will be so heavy on your chest that it will not allow you to breath and then in instant you wake up trying to catch your breath.

Now I am going to share my personal experience. Sleep paralysis had happened to me many times but now it has become so common that I fear no more. In beginning it was horrible and felt like someone was literally sitting on your chest. I have also seen something strange in black wardrobe like The Nun is attired, can’t say whether in consciousness or my sub consciousness and every time I have failed to grasp the countenance of that thing. One day I endeavoured to take control over sleep paralysis but suddenly I was thrown to another room by unknown source, whereas my actual body was lying where I was first asleep, and became conscious, and thought that I am awaken but it was quite opposite. It was like Christopher Nolan’s movie Inception. It becomes very complicated to acknowledge that at which point I was actually awaken or in full consciousness. You cannot move your actual body an inch but when you are thrown to some other place, there you have control over your body but at that stage it is scarce to wake yourself up.

Every Muslim has rote Ayat-ul-Kursi to liberate himself from these situations. I have always recited Ayat-ul-Kursi to come back from that void, though can’t explain why it is always with this Ayat that I come back from that unpleasant situation. To avoid these symptoms, Islam tells us to perform ablution before sleeping, clean our bed, sleep on our right hand side, recite Ayatul Kursi and at last be pure. May Allah protect us from evil.

The writer can be reached at saqlainali878@gmail.com