Definition
Sleep; the natural state of rest in which the body and mind recover.
Example
أَحْتَاجُ إِلَى نَوْمٍ كَافٍ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ.
Show translation
I need enough sleep every night.
Etymology
From the root ن-و-م (n-w-m), which carries the core meaning of sleep and rest throughout Semitic languages. The same root produces the verb نَامَ (nāma, "to sleep") and the adjective نَائِم (nā'im, "sleeping/asleep").
Cultural note
In Classical Arabic literature and the Quran, sleep (نَوْم) is frequently described as a minor form of death — a nightly reminder of human mortality and God's power. The common bedtime supplication "بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا" ("In Your name, O God, I die and I live") reflects this worldview. Additionally, Arabic has a rich vocabulary around sleep: قَيْلُولَة (qaylūla) is the midday nap, a Prophetically recommended practice still common across the Arab world.