What is the ruling on one who falls asleep whilst being carried in tawaf or sa‘i?

In the case of tawaf, in order for it to be valid, it is stipulated that one should be in a state of purity, according to the majority of jurists. This is in contrast to sa‘i.

See the answer to question no. 34695 .

Based on that, if the one who was doing tawaf fell asleep and slept in the manner that invalidates wudu’, then his tawaf is invalid because his wudu’ was invalidated.

If he slept in a way that did not lead to his wudu’ becoming invalidated, then his tawaf is sound.

If he fell asleep during sa‘i, that does not affect his sa‘i, because in the case of sa‘i it is not stipulated that one should be in a state of purity.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If he fell asleep during tawaf or part of it in a manner that does not invalidate wudu’, then the more correct scholarly view is that his tawaf is valid in this case."(Al-Majmu‘  8/16).

Al-Khatib ash-Sharbini (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If he fell asleep during tawaf in a manner that does not invalidate wudu’, then his tawaf was not interrupted."(Mughni al-Muhtaj  2/244).

Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: It was noted that in the case of some pilgrims who are unable to do tawaf and sa‘i themselves, so they are carried [for these rituals], some of them are overcome by sleep during the ritual. What is the ruling on tawaf and sa‘i in this case?

He replied: What the pilgrim must do is pay attention and take care with regard to his tawaf and sa‘i. Drowsiness does not matter, but what he must do is take care, especially in tawaf, because sleeping deeply invalidates wudu’, and one of the conditions of tawaf is being in a state of purity. As for drowsiness, it does not matter if the head droops, so if he becomes drowsy but is not overcome by sleep, that does not affect his tawaf and it does not affect his sa‘i. But it must be noted that when he is doing tawaf, whether he is in a wheelchair or is being carried by men, he must pay attention to this so that he does not fall asleep in a way that would invalidate his wudu’ when he is doing tawaf.

In the case of sa‘i, it is not stipulated that one should be in a state of purity, so if he falls asleep, that will not affect his sa‘i, because sleep does not invalidate sa‘i. Being in a state of purity is not stipulated in the case of sa‘i; rather it is recommended that one should be in a state of purity for it. So if a person falls asleep during his sa‘i and seven laps are completed, that is acceptable, praise be to Allah, and even if he is unaware during sa‘i because of sleep or because of being distracted by intrusive thoughts, that does not matter, in sha Allah. But in the case of tawaf, there is the fear that his wudu’ may become invalidated because of sleep."(Fatawa Nur ‘ala ad-Darb  18/21).

And Allah knows best.