Rafiq-ul-Haramayn - Islamic School System - Dawat-e-Islami

Rafiq-ul-Haramayn 220
Question 4: Can a Muḥrim use stitched shawl at the time of sleeping
for covering his body
Answer: He can do so. Rather, there is no harm in using even more
than one shawl provided the face is uncovered, even if both feet are
fully covered.
Question 5: When travelling by air or by bus, if a Muḥrim goes to
sleep with his face resting on a pillow or on the backrest of the seat
in front of him, what is the ruling in this case
Answer: Although no expiation is required for sleeping with the face
resting on a pillow, it is Makrūĥ Taḥrīmī to do so. As for sleeping
with the face resting on the backrest of the seat in front of Muḥrim,
it is permissible to do so because a seat is normally hard like a door,
unlike a pillow that is soft.
Question 6: Can a Muḥrim sleep with his face resting on his knees
There is no expiation for sleeping with the face resting on a pillow
but it is Makrūĥ. Why
Answer: If the face is resting only on the knees, i.e. only on the hard
part of the knees, this is permissible because the ruling applies
depending upon the hard thing wrapped or covered or put into the
cloth, not the cloth itself, just as Islamic scholars have stated the
ruling of a sack or a bundle of something (except that of clothes).
However, this is very unlikely that the face of Muḥrim rests only on
the knees when sleeping. What is likely is that some part of the face
will be resting on the hard part of the knee and some part of it will
be in contact with the cloth only. Therefore, this should be avoided
otherwise this can result in expiation being due. As for a pillow, it is
soft like a piece of cloth (and therefore it is prohibited for Muḥrim
to sleep with his face resting on it), but a pillow is not considered
cloth in all cases (therefore, expiation is not due).