and piety. Likewise, for anyone in either group, sleep, death, or unconsciousness does not, through the loss of reason, alter the standing established by his previous faith and obedience or disbelief and wickedness. At most, it removes religious obligations.

Exemption from accountability entails neither praise nor commendation nor reward. Losing his reason does not earn a person any gift bestowed upon Allah’s friends or any miraculous favor granted to the righteous. Rather, he is simply exempted from accountability, just as someone asleep, unconscious, or dead is exempted. There is neither praise nor blame in this. Indeed, someone asleep is in a better condition than these people. Thus, the prophets, peace be upon them, slept, but none of them was insane or mentally deranged. Sleep and unconsciousness can occur to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, but insanity cannot. Our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would sleep with his eyes while his heart remained awake, and he lost consciousness during his illness.

As for “insanity,” Allah has kept His prophets free of it, for it is among the gravest human deficiencies: human perfection lies in reason. This is why Allah has forbidden impairing reason by any means and has forbidden whatever leads to its impairment, such as drinking wine. He has forbidden even a drop of it, although it does not impair reason, because it leads to drinking a large quantity that does impair it. How, then, could losing one’s reason be a cause of friendship with Allah, a condition for it, or something that brings one closer to it, as many misguided people imagine—so much so that one of them said of these people: