Etiquettes of Sleeping or Lying Down in the Mosque in the Light of Authentic Ahadith
This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Muhammad Munir Qamar’s book Aḥkām al-Masājid.
✿ Sleeping or Lying Down in the Mosque
When it is permissible to sleep in the mosque out of necessity, then lying down merely for a little rest and relaxation cannot be impermissible. In fact, the practice of lying down in the mosque is proven from authentic Ahadith from the Noble Prophet ﷺ himself.
However, since it is the mosque, one must observe the etiquettes that safeguard its sanctity and respect.
✔ For example: spreading a mat, rug, or bedding before lying down.
✔ Wearing such clothing that prevents any exposure.
✔ Ensuring to wear undergarments so that in case of turning or moving during sleep, the mosque’s ground, mat, carpet, or rug remains protected from any impurity.
✿ Placing One Leg Over the Other While Lying Down
The manner of lying down in the mosque is proven from the Noble Prophet ﷺ himself. Whoever follows it will, at the very least, minimize the chances of exposure of the private parts.
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Sharḥ al-Sunnah al-Baghawī, and Muwaṭṭa’ Imām Mālik, ʿAbbād bin Tamīm narrates from his uncle (ʿAbdullāh bin Zayd bin ʿĀṣim al-Māzinī رضي الله عنه):
إنه رأى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فى مسجد وضع إحدى رجليه على الأخرى
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ lying down in the mosque, having placed one of his blessed legs over the other.”
References: Bukhārī 1/563 – Muslim 1/7/77, 78 – Muwaṭṭa’ Mālik 1/353 – Sharḥ al-Sunnah 2/377 – al-Muntaqā 1/227/2 – Muslim 3/1662 (Tahqīq: Muḥammad Fu’ād ʿAbd al-Bāqī, Beirut)
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muwaṭṭa’ Imām Mālik, Saʿīd bin al-Musayyib رحمه الله, and in Sharḥ al-Sunnah, Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī رحمه الله, state:
ان عمر بن الخطاب وعثمان بن عفان رضي الله عنهما يفعلان ذلك
“ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنهما used to do this.”
Al-Ḥumaydī رحمه الله also narrates from Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه that along with ʿUmar and ʿUthmān رضي الله عنهما, Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه also practiced this.
Hence, lying down with one leg placed over the other is permissible.
Imām al-Baghawī and ʿAllāmah Waḥīd al-Zamān رحمهما الله write that lying flat on one’s back with the legs extended—without raising the knees—and with the body properly covered does not expose the private parts. In fact, this position is more concealing compared to lying with legs spread separately.
References: Sharḥ al-Sunnah 2/378 – Lughat al-Ḥadīth 15, Kitāb al-Umm, p.58 (Noor Muhammad Press, Karachi)
Similarly, Imām al-Khaṭṭābī, al-Bayhaqī, Imām al-Nawawī, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar, ʿAllāmah al-Zurqānī, and other scholars also deemed this way of lying on the back to be permissible.
References: Fatḥ al-Bārī, al-Zurqānī, al-Nawawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah
✿ An Apparent Contradiction and Its Resolution
There is also a narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and other Sunan which prohibits placing one leg over the other while lying on the back.
Jābir رضي الله عنه narrates:
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن أن يرفع الرجل إحدى رجليه على الأخرى وهو مستلق على ظهره
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade a man from placing one leg over the other while lying flat on his back.”
(Muslim 3/1661 – Tahqīq: Muḥammad Fu’ād ʿAbd al-Bāqī, Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī)
Another narration states:
ولا تضع إحدى رجليك على الأخرى إذا استلقيت
“When you are lying flat on your back, do not place one leg over the other.”
And a third narration says:
لا يستلقين أحدكم ثم يضع إحدى رجليه على الأخرى
“None of you should lie on his back and then place one leg over the other.”
✿ Explanation by Scholars
Imām al-Nawawī رحمه الله, in his Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, writes:
- This prohibition refers to the situation where a man lies flat on his back, raises one knee, and places the other leg over it. In this case, there is a possibility of exposure of the private parts.
- As for the previously mentioned permissible manner, if there is no exposure, then there is no harm or dislike in lying down in this way.
He further clarifies:
“It is possible that the Prophet ﷺ himself lay in this manner for relaxation and rest due to tiredness. Otherwise, generally, his noble habit was to sit with the people in different postures rather than to lie down.”
