Does a person's ablution become invalid if he sleeps in a settled position or not?

The Shaykh : If a person sleeps in a settled position, as the jurists say, does his ablution become invalid or not? Answer: There are several schools of thought regarding sleep. Some say that sleep is an absolute invalidator in any form, even if one is sleeping in a settled position, and this is the correct view. Others say that sleep does not invalidate at all, which is a clear error. Some say that if one sleeps in a settled position, it does not invalidate, and some said that even if one sleeps in prostration, it does not invalidate. When we reviewed the evidence and the schools of thought, it became clear to us that the correct view is what he (peace be upon him) said, and there is no difference after his saying: , and in another hadith: , and in another wording: . So sleep is an absolute invalidator. This is supported by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned sleep along with defecation and urination in some hadiths; where he said: "The resident wipes over the leather socks for one day and night, and the traveler for three days and their nights, from defecation, urination, or major ritual impurity ; meaning: from defecation, urination, or sleep, except for major ritual impurity. If one has major ritual impurity, he must remove his socks, perform ablution, and take a full ritual bath.
The point is that he paired sleep with urination and defecation, which are established invalidators of ablution. Here, in a very subtle point, when he mentioned sleep along with the established invalidators of ablution, defecation and urination, the matter becomes difficult for some people. Some scholars argue with certain matters that do not contain a text stating that there is sleep. So now, in your question, we must remember that there is sleep and there is drowsiness. What invalidates the ablution is sleep, while drowsiness does not invalidate the ablution. Therefore, we must know the difference between sleep and drowsiness, because it is not important now whether I sat in a settled position or lay down; the important thing is whether I slept or was drowsy. Because sleep, as we said earlier, is an invalidator in any form. So sleep is the operative cause of invalidation in the Shari'ah, and drowsiness is not. If a person lay down like this and did not sleep but was drowsy, or sat like this and was drowsy, then it is drowsiness, and it does not invalidate. On the contrary, if a man slept like this or slept lying down like this, the result is the same, because in both cases he slept. In the first case, in the drowsiness, in both cases he was drowsy and did not sleep. What is the difference between drowsiness and sleep? Many scholars have not clarified this issue. I saw this clarification from Imam al-Khatibbi (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book *Ma'alim al-Sunan*, an explanation of the Sunan of Abu Dawud. He says: Sleep is being absorbed in sleep such that the sleeper, when he is in a gathering and there is conversation, does not hear any sound at all; meaning he is absent from existence. This is called sleeping, and his ablution is invalidated in whatever state he is in. But drowsiness is the prelude to sleep. How do you know it? He said: If he continues to hear the sound but does not understand what is being said, then he is drowsy, and his ablution is not invalidated because he has not completely lost consciousness. But if he no longer feels the speech or hears it, then he has slept and his ablution is invalidated. Here, if I see you, I cannot judge that you have slept, nor can I judge that you were drowsy. You are the one who judges yourself. And this is the answer to your question. You were inattentive, no doubt, but did you remain in the gathering hearing the sound, or were you absent even from the sound? If this is the case, from the jurists, hadith scholars, and linguists, combining the three qualities, he is a hadith scholar, a jurist, and a linguist, and he is Abu 'Ubaydah al-Qasim ibn Sallam, the author of the book *al-Amwal*... He used to hold the view that sleep in a settled position does not invalidate the ablution, until the following incident happened to him. He was in the mosque listening to the Friday sermon of the preacher. A man next to him fell asleep. When the preacher finished the sermon and called for the prayer, the man who had slept wanted to straighten up in the row to pray. The imam said to him: "Go, my brother, and perform ablution, for you have slept." He said: "No, I did not sleep; you are the one who slept." He said: "My brother, you slept, and a smell came from you." He said to him: "You are the one who did it." The imam smelled a scent from him and attributed this scent to him. This poor man changed his opinion from that day and followed the other view. Not every person who is sleeping in a settled position and does not feel himself... and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) told the truth, . It is possible that a person is sleeping in a settled position, but there is no blame; a little while later, the peg is released, do you see how? And whatever incident happened after the imam from that day, he says sleep is an absolute invalidator. But we must discuss the distinction between sleep and drowsiness. Okay, let us pray.