Does sleep break wudu'?
Short answer
Deep sleep in which awareness is lost breaks wudu', while slight drowsiness with awareness remaining does not break it.
Evidence and explanation
He cited the hadith of Safwan ibn 'Assal, may Allah be pleased with him, which mentions sleep together with urine and stool among the causes of wudu'.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
The views of several scholars on this issue
Shaykh Ibn Baz's source shows the distinction between deep sleep in which awareness is lost and light drowsiness with awareness remaining.
Shaykh Ibn Baz's source addresses the case of loss of sensation through sleep, and distinguishes it from drowsiness with which awareness remains. As for the view of Shaykh Ibn al-'Uthaymin, it has not yet been verified, because the material linked to it does not address the issue. Presenting a scholar's view is not a claim of consensus in the details of forms of sleep.
An effective restriction: the criterion mentioned is loss of awareness or remaining sensation; not merely the length of sleep or the posture of the body in all cases.
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him
He stated that deep sleep breaks wudu', while light sleep with which awareness remains does not break it.
A textual fatwa on the Shaykh's site- The view the scholar preferred or determined
- Deep sleep is a nullifier — the statement of Shaykh Ibn Baz
- How the evidence is derived in his source
- In the source he cited the hadith of Safwan ibn 'Assal, may Allah be pleased with him, on wiping over the socks, which mentions sleep together with stool and urine.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-'Uthaymin, may Allah have mercy on him
The Shaykh's view on this issue was not verified: the linked material (Explanation of the Book of Purification, lesson 7) addresses the siwak and its manners, and does not address the nullifiers of wudu'.
Unverified — the linked source does not address the issue- The view the scholar preferred or determined
- Not established here; the previous summary was removed because it is not present in the linked source.
- How the evidence is derived in his source
- No evidence is attributed to the Shaykh in this issue until it is documented from a sound source.
A methodological note: presenting a scholar's preference does not mean the site preferred it, and it is not right to describe it as the absolute preponderant view merely because of many agreeing. The editorial summaries and the explanation of how the evidence is derived have not yet been approved by independent Shari'ah review; read the original source in full. The details of the incident may affect the ruling.
Source
Ruling on wudu' being broken by sleep
Title of the original page (Arabic): حكم انتقاض الوضوء بالنوم
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him