The influence of sleeping to the rules in Islamic Law

Sleeping that is one of the main needs of humanbeings is a condition effecting the conscience directly. Since accepted as a deficiency of capacity for execution, it has been considered both in the roots and branches of the law. Studies in Turkish on Islamic law about sleeping are not only unsatisfying but also unsystematic. There have not been well-coordinated works about the influence of sleeping over the Islamic judgments in Turkish. This thesis aims to gather the judgments about sleeping which is one of the consciousness phases by compiling data from various jurisprudence sources. Moreover, it seeks to find a way for comparing different points of view and presenting them to people who are interested in this topic. Sleeping that is seen in Islamic law as a deficiency of capacity for execution releases people from religious and judicial responsibilities. The reason of it is that religion and jurisprudence confer responsibilities to people who have consciousness and free will. According to this principle, a sleeping person should not only have any responsibility to God but also be free from all penal sanctionings. However, the same person is responsible from other people's rightful dues. For instance, a sleeping person should give compensation if s/he rolls over in his/her sleep and damages another person's goods. vii And again, if a sleeping person conducts a deadly action and murders somebody else in his/her sleep, s/he is responsible to pay a compensation. In Islamic law, it has been discussed and evaluated the third person's sleep. For instance, it has been discussed the condition of the third person who sleeps in the same bed with a couple. This thesis consists on three chapters: In the first chapter, the concepts of sleep and capacity for execution have been clarified. In the second chapter, the effects of sleep to prayers, especially its influences to cleaning, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, sacrifice and oaths have been reviewed. In the third chapter, the approach of sleeping toward deeds, matrimony and penalties, specifically, free will in trade, acceptance, marriage, divorce, breast-feeding, damaging somebody else's goods or life have been stated. Also, prohibited circumstances of sleeping in modern law and the matter of sleepwalking have been pointed out. Key Words: Sleep, Capacity for execution, Islamic Jurisprudence