Falling asleep during the Sajdah posture of Salaah

Q. If a man or woman fall asleep during the Sajdah posture of Salaah, does their Salaah break?

A. If a man falls asleep during the prescribed Sajdah posture of Salaah (i.e. forehands are off the ground, away from the body and stomach is away from the thighs) and remains in that posture until he awakes, his Salaah remains valid and he may continue with performing his Salaah.

However, if a woman falls asleep during the prescribed Sajdah posture of Salaah, (i.e. forehands are on the ground and stomach is attached to the body), her Salaah becomes invalid and she will have to repeat her Salaah.

The difference is that a man effectively has control over his muscles during the prescribed Sajdah posture of Salaah which does not result in exposing his body to the release of wind whereas, a woman’s body is relaxed during the prescribed Sajdah posture of Salaah and results in exposing her body to the release of wind. (Al-Bahrur-Raaiq 1/39)

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

themufti.com