Do Jinns ever sleep / rest?

Question

I know it's an awkward question, but let me put a little introduction of how this question came up. While reading the quran surah Al Baqarah ayah 255 which says:

"Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."

Now as you all know from surah Al-Ikhlas ayah 4:

"Nor is there to Him any equivalent."

Then I wondered, Do Jinns ever sleep / rest? Since nothing can be compared to Allah then I presume that they do sleep or at least rest too. But of course I'm not knowledgable about it. And also do they die like humans too? I read that some Jinns are believers and some are non believers to Allah just like humans do. Also are they sustained by Allah like we humans are sustained by Allah ? like when He gives us Food and Drink, Plant, Animals, Fruits etc. Do Jinns experience the same kind of sustenance? Is there anything mention in the Quran / hadits about it?

Answer 1

We learn a couple of things about the nature of the Jinn from the Sunnah.

1. Do they rest? - Yes.

Tha’labah al-Khushani said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The jinn are of three types: a types that has wings, and they fly through the air; a type that looks like snakes and dogs; and a type that stops for a rest then resumes its journey.” (Reported by al-Tahhaawi in Mushkil al-Athaar, 4/95, and by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 22/214. Shaykh al-Albaani said in al-Mishkaat (2/1206, no. 4148): al-Tahhaawi and Abu’l-Shaykh reported it with a saheeh isnaad). [Source].

2. Do they die? - Yes.

Ibn 'Abbas reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to say: اللهم لك أسلمت وبك آمنت وعليك توكلت وإليك أنبت وبك خاصمت اللهم إني أعوذ بعزتك لا إله إلا أنت أن تضلني أنت الحى الذي لا يموت والجن والإنس يموتون (O Allah, it is unto Thee that I surrender myself. I affirm my faith in Thee and repose my trust in Thee and turn to Thee in repentance and with Thy help fought my adversaries. O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee with Thine Power; there is no god but Thou, lest Thou leadest me astray. Thou art ever-living that dieth not, while the Jinn and mankind die) - Sahih Muslim (2717).

3. Do they eat/drink? - Yes.

Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: إذا أكل أحدكم فليأكل بيمينه وإذا شرب فليشرب بيمينه فإن الشيطان يأكل بشماله ويشرب بشماله (When any one of you intends to eat (meal), he should eat with his right hand. and when he (intends) to drink he should drink with his right hand, for the Satan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand) -Sahih Muslim (2020).

But they have a different diet, e.g., bones, etc).

Abdullah bin Mas'ud narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷻ) said: لا تستنجوا بالروث ولا بالعظام فإنه زاد إخوانكم من الجن (Do not perform Istinja, with dung, nor with bones. For indeed it is provisions for your brothers among the Jinn) - Tirmidhi (18)

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I personally couldn't find any particular hadith that said they sleep explicitly. However, you can deduce that they do sleep too, esp. if they rest. It is reported particularly that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Take a nap at midday, for the Shaytaan does not take a nap at midday” (Narrated by at-Tabaraani in al-Awsat, 28; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah, 1647). [Source]. If the Jinn never slept at any time, then the emphasis on this particular time period (midday) wouldn't make sense. So it seems they do sleep but not at midday. (Note: This is a little of my own ijtihad.. but you can seek out more knowledge on the matter from scholars).

Hope this helps.