And We made your sleep a subat (cessation/death)

"And We made your sleep a subat," meaning like a subat. There is in the statement an eloquent simile, as has preceded. The intended meaning of subat is death, and it has appeared in the language with this meaning. The aspect of likening sleep to it is manifest, and upon this is His saying, Exalted is He, "And it is He who takes your souls by night." It is on the structure of [the word] adwa’ (diseases), derived from al-sabt, meaning "the cutting," due to what it contains of the cessation of work and movement. It is said, "He sabata his hair" if he shaved it, and "his nose" if he cut it off. Ibn al-Anbari claimed, as is in al-Durar, that al-sabt in the sense of "cutting" was never heard, as if he were deaf [to the evidence].

It is said that al-sabt is extension, like al-sibt; it is said, "The hair sabata" when its braids are loosened. Based on this is the interpretation of subat as long, extended sleep, and the conferring of favor by it is due to what it contains of the absence of disturbance. Some permitted interpreting it as light sleep, based on what is in al-Qamus of it being used for that, with the meaning being: "We made your sleep a light, non-extended sleep, so that the affairs of your livelihood and your return [in the Hereafter] are not disrupted by it."

In al-Bahr [it is stated]: subatan, meaning stillness and rest. [It is said] "He sabata" if he rested. Ibn al-Anbari also claimed that sabata was never heard in this sense, and al-Murtada refuted him by stating that it meant the rest necessary for sleep and the cessation of sensation, for in that is the rest of the animal faculties from what had befallen them during wakefulness from exertion. From this, the known day was named Sabt (Saturday) because of the emptiness and rest for them. It is said it was named that because God, Exalted is He, began the creation of the heavens and the earth on Sunday, and created them in six days as He, Mighty and Majestic is He, mentioned, then He, Glorified is He, ceased His work on Saturday, so it was named for that.

The verifiers chose the view that subat here means death, for it is more appropriate to the context, as is not hidden.