but in al-Bazzār’s Musnad the same report comes with a sound chain: “They would lie on their sides; some of them would fall asleep, then they would rise to perform the prayer.”

I add: Abū Dāwūd likewise brought it in Masāʾil al-Imām Aḥmad, p. 318, with the wording: “The Companions of the Prophet ﷺ used to recline on their sides and fall asleep; some of them would renew their ablution and some of them would not.” Its chain is authentic according to the criteria of the two Imāms.

This wording differs from the first phrase—“their heads would droop”—for that, as Ibn al-Mubārak stated, only happens while a person is seated. Hence we have two options: either declare the ḥadith inconsistent and drop it as evidence, or reconcile the two wordings by saying that some of them slept while sitting and others while lying down, and that some performed ablution whereas others did not. This second course is nearer to the truth, and in that case the ḥadith supports those who maintain that sleep, in and of itself, never invalidates wuḍūʾ. That opinion has been authentically reported from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, Ibn ʿUmar, and Ibn al-Musayyib, as noted in Fatḥ al-Bārī. By contrast, the alternative wording cannot be applied to a sleeper whose backside remains firmly on the ground; thus it conflicts with the ḥadith of Ṣafwān ibn ʿAssāl cited in the book: “…except after defecation, urination, or sleep,” which shows that sleep nullifies ablution absolutely, just like defecation and urination. Beyond question that ḥadith carries more weight than the report of Anas, because it is marfūʿ (traced back to the Prophet ﷺ), whereas the report of Anas could describe a time before ablution for sleep was made obligatory.

The correct view, therefore, is that sleep always breaks wuḍūʾ, and no proof is sufficient to restrict the ḥadith of Ṣafwān. On the contrary, it is corroborated by the marfūʿ ḥadith of ʿAlī: “The eyes are the tie of the anal opening; so whoever sleeps should perform ablution.” Its chain is hasan, as affirmed by al-Mundhirī, al-Nawawī, and Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, and I have detailed it in Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd, no. 198; accordingly, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed every sleeper to make wuḍūʾ.

Nor does this disturb the universality of the ruling—as some have imagined—simply because the ḥadith indicates that sleep is not