perform ablution and sleep. Abū Ishāq al-Sabī‘ī reported from al-Aswad, from ‘Ā’ishah, that he would sometimes sleep without touching water (1). The leading hadith scholars regard this as an error. We have discussed it thoroughly in our book Refinement of Abū Dāwūd’s Sunan and Clarification of Its Defects and Difficult Passages (2).
He would have intercourse with his wives and take a single ritual bath afterward. At other times, he would take a ritual bath after being with each wife. He practised both.
When returning from a journey, he would not arrive unexpectedly at his family’s home at night, and he forbade doing so.
Section
His Guidance and Practice, May Allah Bless Him and Grant Him Peace, in Sleeping and Waking
He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would sometimes sleep on bedding, sometimes on a leather mat, sometimes on a woven mat, and sometimes on the ground. Sometimes he slept on a bed with its woven palm-leaf surface (3), and at other times with a cloak spread over it (4)