The Sunnah has come with the command to perform wudu for one who wishes to sleep while in a state of major ritual impurity

The questioner : O Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : A man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about sleeping while in a state of major ritual impurity, so he commanded him to perform wudu. In *Sahih al-Jami'* it is stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to wipe his hands on the wall when he was in a state of major ritual impurity; is this a specific attribute of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or a general legislation?

The Shaykh : What is this?

The questioner : Tayammum.

The Shaykh : No, I understood, but your question.

The questioner : Tayammum, but my question is about the wall. Tayammum means without wudu and without ghusl; is it a specific attribute of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh : No, it is not a specific attribute.

The questioner : Or is it legislation for everyone?

The Shaykh : The legislated principle regarding all the actions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) is that they are to be followed, except where evidence has come that clarifies and explains that what he (peace be upon him) did, or what he was permitted to do, was a matter specific to him. This is not of that nature. Rather, there are different levels for one who is in a state of major ritual impurity and wants to sleep. The best is that he does not sleep until he has taken a full ritual bath. If he is lazy and sluggish and does not feel like taking a bath, he descends to the level of ablution and performs the ablution. If he does not feel like performing the ablution either, he performs dry ablution with clean earth, as the Messenger (peace be upon him) did. And if he does not do that, he may sleep while in a state of major ritual impurity, because it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) slept while in a state of major ritual impurity and woke up in the morning and took a full ritual bath. However, the first is the best, and the last is below all the other ranks.