---
title: "The Unsleeping Danger"
published_at: "2026-10-04"
canonical_url: "https://www.truthpromoters.com/vignettes/the-unsleeping-danger-mutknkwb"
type: "vignette"
audience: "young people"
scripture_reference: "Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 196, Section 4"
---

# The Unsleeping Danger

Raka stood on the rooftop of his Yogyakarta house, the humid night air wrapping around him. His phone glowed with a group chat, friends joking about the upcoming exam, while the call to prayer echoed in the distance.

He looked at the clock. It was late. The mosque was empty.

"Just one more scroll," he thought, his thumb hovering over the screen. The voice of the muadzin faded into the night.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine. He remembered a lesson from his kakek: negligence is the most harmful enemy. It corrupts deeds and cuts off hopes.

Raka looked at his hands. They felt heavy, as if they had forgotten their purpose. The comfort of the moment was a trap, a delusion of respite that blinded him to his final journey.

He closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the moment. He was hovering between hope and fear, but the fear was winning.

With a deep breath, he turned off his phone. He walked downstairs, performed ablution, and stood in prayer. The silence was no longer empty; it was filled with presence.

## Scripture

> عِبَادَ اللهِ، الاْنَ فَاعْلَمُوا، وَالاْلْسُنُ مُطْلَقَةٌ، وَالاْبدَانُ صَحِيحَةٌ، وَالاْعْضَاءُ لَدْنَةٌ، وَالْمُنقَلَبُ فَسِيحٌ، وَالْـمَجَالُ عَرِيضٌ، قَبْلَ إِرْهَاقِ الْفَوْتِ، وَحُلُولِ الْمَوْتِ، فَحَقّقُوا عَلَيْكُمْ نُزُولَهُ، وَلاَ تَنْتَظِرُوا قُدُومَهُ.
>
> O creatures of Allāh, you should know now that you have to perform (good) acts, because (at present) your tongues are free, your bodies are healthy, your limbs have movement, the area of your coming and going is vast and the course of your running is wide; before the loss of opportunity or the approach of death. Take death’s approach as an accomplished fact and do not think it will come (hereafter).

— *Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 196, Section 4*

*This vignette also has a short video, available on the web page.*

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_Read this vignette on the web: https://www.truthpromoters.com/vignettes/the-unsleeping-danger-mutknkwb_