Don’t sleep on obedience: The difference between questioning and asking questions

Sohaib Awan, USA

Around 3,700 infants pass away unexpectedly in their sleep each year in the US alone.¹ These babies are gently tucked in by loving parents and kissed goodnight – never to wake up again. Each of these tragedies is uniquely heart-wrenching for parents and loved ones alike.

In response, hospitals emphasise a simple but powerful safety guideline called the ABCs of safe sleep: “Alone, on their Back, in a Crib.” This mnemonic is a part of a campaign to combat what is known as Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS).

In 1994, a concerted “Back to Sleep” public health campaign in the US waged a war against infants sleeping in the prone position (on their stomachs) – the greatest risk factor identified for SUIDS.² The campaign’s immediate impact reduced SUIDS cases by over 53%.³

Remarkably, this modern health campaign is unwittingly the latest iteration of 1,400-year-old, divine guidance. Centuries ago, the Holy Prophet^sa had already forbidden sleeping in the prone position. Ya’ish bin Tikhfah^ra reports:

“My father said: ‘While I was lying on my stomach because of pain in the lung, a man began to shake me with his foot and then said: This is a method of lying which Allah hates. I looked and saw that he was the Messenger^sa of Allah.” (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Adab, Hadith 5040)

Even beyond infancy, the dangers of prone sleeping persist. Sleep research reveals that prone sleeping flattens the lower spine’s natural curve and strains the upper back and neck These findings led orthopedic experts at the Keck Medicine University of Southern California to conclude:

“Sleeping on your stomach is the worst position for your spine.”⁴

The fact that the Holy Prophet^sa would single out the very sleep position now condemned by modern science is nothing short of compelling evidence of divine inspiration.

‘From the first drop’

Such alignment between Islam and modern science is not isolated. There are many commandments whose wisdom only became clear with modern discovery. Another equally compelling example is that of the prohibition of alcohol.

The scientific community has long grappled with the question of safe levels of consumption. In the 1990s, moderate consumption was in fact recommended for heart health.⁵

Then, through the early 2000s, public health officials promoted “drink responsibly” messaging as data mounted against them. Only in 2023 did the World Health Organisation (WHO) release the following statement:

“No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health” and it “doesn’t matter how much you drink – the risk to the drinker’s health starts from the first drop of any alcoholic beverage.”⁶

Despite this long overdue position, incalculable harm continues on unabated as a direct result of alcohol in the form of addiction, violence, drunk driving, date rape, suicide, multiple forms of cancer (as a designated level one carcinogen) – and the list goes on and on. Or, as the Hazrat Uthman^ra bin ‘Affan succinctly stated:

“Stay away from wine, for it is the mother of wickedness.” (Sunan an‑Nasa’i, Kitab al‑Ashriba, Hadith 5666)

Here again, an Islamic instruction preceded scientific discovery by over a millennium. Islam, too, could have appeased the masses and promoted moderation, but the fact that it went against the tide and forbade alcohol altogether is striking and perfectly aligned with the eventual conclusion of modern science.

We understand and we obey?

These examples are awe-inspiring in their own right, but they do more than simply validate our faith from secular discovery.

It is easy to follow the injunction prohibiting prone sleep now that the wisdom behind it has been uncovered, but imagine how arbitrary this injunction must have seemed prior to these discoveries.

It is easy to condemn alcohol consumption entirely now that the World Health Organization has condemned it, but imagine how monumental of a task rooting out alcohol from 7th century Arabia must have been. One doesn’t need to look far, just think what it would take to put an end to alcohol consumption today despite categorical evidence against it.

Many Quranic injunctions and aspects of the sunnah can appear arbitrary, inconsequential, or even counterintuitive, and we fail to discern any wisdom behind them. For example, why did the Holy Prophet^sa instruct us to sit when drinking water or prohibit blowing on food?

To a disbeliever, all these acts seem like personal quirks or superstitious rituals. Even allegations of – God forbid, obsessive-compulsive disorder have been entertained – a modern twist to the age-old accusation of being “a madman” (Surah al-Hijr, Ch.15: V.7).

Among other examples, the structured method of performing ablution is often cited in which believers are instructed to wash each limb in a precise sequence and frequency. What is the wisdom behind these detailed injunctions? We may or may not know. Yet, obedience is required. In fact, the Promised Messiah^as emphatically proclaimed:

“I tell you truly that anyone who disregards even a small injunction of the seven hundred commandments of the Quran shuts upon himself the door of salvation.” (Our Teaching, 2018, p. 20)

Furthermore, every injunction of the Holy Prophet^sa is also obligatory and a prerequisite for attaining Allah’s pleasure. The Holy Prophet^sa is commanded in the Holy Quran to proclaim:

“Say, ‘If you love Allah, follow me; [then] will Allah love you and forgive you your faults.” (Surah Aal-e-Imran Ch.3: V.32)

But in truth, even these seemingly arbitrary details of Islam are deeply intentional and full of profound wisdom.

While seeking out their explanations is a noble pursuit that uncovers hidden pearls of wisdom, it can never be a prerequisite to our obedience.

We obey the commandments of Allah the Almighty and the Holy Prophet^sa, first and foremost, because they are their commandments. Alluding to this, the Quran quotes the believers as those who proclaim:

“We hear and we obey.” (Surah al-Baqarah Ch.2: V.286)

Distinctly not, “We hear, we question, we seek to understand, and then do we obey.”

This often draws criticism from modern “question everything” intellectuals who, God forbid,  assert that Islam demands blind obedience. However, Islam asks for a trusted obedience instead. And this is a distinction every rational mind accepts in practice.

For example, if we require surgery, we choose a reputable institution, an experienced surgeon, and we may even ask a few questions for peace of mind. And then we are willing to put our lives into their trusted hands. We do not, however, “question everything.”

Why, then, would we adopt a more distrusting approach when it comes to the prescriptions of the Quran and the Prophet^sa for our spiritual ailments?

Of course, this level of trust presupposes that we have already verified and accepted their truthfulness. Once this is established, it follows that human understanding cannot be the standard by which absolute truth is measured.

Why should we be so arrogant as to believe that we must personally – or even collectively – have the capacity to understand the wisdom behind every commandment anyway? After all, divine guidance should assuredly be far superior to our limited individual and collective human comprehension:

“And they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He pleases.” (Surah al-Baqarah Ch.2: V.256)

Furthermore, man’s understanding is constantly evolving. Once, man held the Earth to be flat, then “proved” it to be spherical, and now purports that it was in fact ellipsoid after all. Who knows how many further iterations our collective understanding might undergo?

Yet, true and certain knowledge will always be with Allah who is Al-Haqq – the Lord of absolute truth.

Thus, when we come across commandments from the Quran, the sunnah, the Promised Messiah^as, or Khalifatul Masih^aa, we must reflect on our truly insignificant state. We are less than a speck in the vast cosmos, whereas these commandments come from the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. Their grandeur, and our insignificance, dictate that we hear and immediately obey. There is room for questions and clarifications, but for believers, that comes only after willing submission – not before.

Questioning vs asking questions

This humility was what the Children of Israel lacked, as they arrogantly questioned rather than humbly ask questions. The Quran recounts:

“And [remember] when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, why do you vex and slander me and you know that I am Allah’s Messenger unto you?’” (Surah as-Saff Ch.61: V.6)

As if to say that now that you have already recognised that I am commissioned by Allah, what room do you have left to question my authority or disobey me? In stark contrast, we find Abraham^as, the “paragon of virtue and obedience” (Surah an-Nahl Ch.16: V.121). He asks:

“‘My Lord, show me how Thou givest life to the dead.’ He said, ‘Hast thou not believed?’ He said, ‘Yes, but [I ask this so] that my heart may be at rest.’” (Surah al-Baqarah Ch.2: V.261)

Here, we see the difference between questioning divine authority and asking questions to quench our thirst for understanding. The key difference being the rebellion that is implicit in the former and the obedience that is part and parcel of the latter.

The power of obedience

Returning to the prohibition of alcohol, how was it that Islam was able to root it out so completely that even now, centuries later, majority Muslim countries continue to have the least alcohol consumption per capita in the world.⁷

How was this remarkable feat achieved in a society deeply entrenched in alcohol and liquor? It was due to perhaps the most extraordinary display of collective obedience in the history of mankind. Anas bin Malik^ra relates:

“I was the servant of the people in the house of Abu Talha, and in those days drinks were prepared from dates. Allah’s Messenger^sa ordered somebody to announce that alcoholic drinks had been prohibited. Abu Talha ordered me to go out and spill the wine. I went out and spilled it, and it flowed in the streets of Medina.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al‑Mazalim, Hadith 2464)

Immediately upon hearing the prohibition – without seeking confirmation, without asking questions, and without hesitation – the companions poured out their half-empty glasses of wine and broke their wine cellars.

It was their spirit of obedience that achieved what no other institution can even dream of achieving. They required neither reason nor explanation – only the command.

Similarly, the believers who followed the injunction against prone sleeping for centuries without explanation – purely out of love and obedience to the Holy Prophet^sa – protected themselves and their children from its harmful effects. Perhaps they were labeled “blind” in their obedience, but modern science vindicates them today.

Those who preferred their own intellect and dismissed the injunction as inconsequential, or who demanded an explanation went on suffering from its ill effects. And those who never took the time to study the sunnah of the Holy Prophet^sa and were unaware of this guidance, fared no better – unwittingly confirming the truth of the proverb:

 “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”

Let us, by Allah’s grace, be those believers who seek out divine guidance and explore its wisdom – but never make understanding a condition for obedience. Rather, may we humbly submit our limited intellect before the All-Knowing and commit to unwavering obedience – even in sleep.

References:

1. “Data and Statistics for SUID and SIDS”, cdc.gov, 17 September 2024
2. “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome”, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 24 July 2023
3. “Trends in SUID Rates by Cause of Death, 1990—2022”, cdc.gov, 17 September 2024
4. “The Best – and Worst – Sleep Positions for Back Pain”, keckmedicine.org, 3 January 2019
5. “Wine, alcohol, platelets, and the French paradox for coronary heart disease”, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 20 June 1992
6. “No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health”, who.int, 4 January 2023
7. “Global‑Relocate ranking: Alcohol consumption per capita”, global-relocate.com, accessed on 10 November 2025