Quran Universe
30:23

وَمِنۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ مَنَامُكُم بِٱلَّيۡلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَٱبۡتِغَآؤُكُم مِّن فَضۡلِهِۦٓۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَٰتٖ لِّقَوۡمٖ يَسۡمَعُونَ

Wamin ayatihi manamukum biallayli waalnnahari waibtighaokum min fadlihi inna fee thalika laayatin liqawmin yasmaAAoona

And of His signs is your sleep by night and day and your seeking of His bounty. Indeed in that are signs for a people who listen.

Word by word
  1. وَمِنۡAnd among
  2. ءَايَٰتِهِۦHis Signs
  3. مَنَامُكُم(is) your sleep
  4. بِٱلَّيۡلِby night
  5. وَٱلنَّهَارِand the day
  6. وَٱبۡتِغَآؤُكُم[and] your seeking
  7. مِّنof
  8. فَضۡلِهِۦٓۚHis Bounty
  9. إِنَّIndeed
  10. فِيin
  11. ذَٰلِكَthat
  12. لَأٓيَٰتٖsurely (are) Signs
  13. لِّقَوۡمٖfor a people
  14. يَسۡمَعُونَwho listen
Ar-Rum · 30:23Makkah

Your sleep and your work are both His signs.

Rest and earning as gifts

The daily cycle
sleeptiredness goes away
then
seeking His bountyearning, traveling
What sleep is
wasted timeless hustle
a sign of mercyrest He designed

Ibn Kathir says among His signs is the cycle of sleep, when people stop moving and rest so their exhaustion goes away. Then He lets them seek a living and travel by day. Signs, he says, for those who listen, meaning those who understand.

You scroll in bed until 2am, then drag yourself to work tired and short-tempered. Sleep feels like something to cut. The verse calls your sleep a sign, as much as your paycheck. Rest is part of the design, not a weakness.

Sleep is time I lose from getting things done.

Sleep is a gift from Allah, and so is the strength I wake with.

Try this

Put your phone away 20 minutes earlier tonight, and sleep with the intention of rest He gave.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 30:22)

And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge (22)And among His signs is your sleep by night and by day, and your seeking His bounty. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who listen.) Allah sai (23)

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ

(And among His signs) indicating His magnificent power.

خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ 

(is the creation of the heavens and the earth,) The heavens with their vast height and brightness and beauty of the stars and planets, and the earth with its density and its mountains, valleys, seas, plains, animals and trees.

وَاخْتِلَافُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ

(and the difference of your languages) So, we see that some speak Arabic, and the Tatars have their own language, as do the Georgians, Romans, Franks, Berbers, Tou Couleurs (of Sudan), Ethiopians, Indians, Persians, Slavs, Khazars, Armenians, Kurds and others. Only Allah knows the variety of languages spoken among the sons of Adam. And the difference of their colors mentioned here refers to their appearance, for all the people of this world, from the time that Allah created Adam, and until the Hour begins, each of them has two eyes, two eyebrows, a nose, a forehead, a mouth and two cheeks, but none of them looks like another; there is bound to be some difference in posture, appearance and speech, whether it is apparent or is hidden and can only be noticed with careful observation. Each face has its own characteristics and does not look like another; even if there was a group of people who looked alike, having a beautiful or ugly characteristic in common, there would still be a difference between one person and the next.

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْعَالِمِينَ

(Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge.)

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ مَنَامُكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَابْتِغَاؤُكُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۚ 

(And among His signs is your sleep by night and by day, and your seeking of His bounty.) Among His signs is the cycle of sleep that He has created during the night and the day, when people are able to cease moving and rest, so that their tiredness and exhaustion will go away. And He has enabled you to seek to earn a living and to travel about during the day, this is the opposite of sleep.

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَسْمَعُونَ

(Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who listen.) meaning, understand.