Is a person performing I'tikaf (spiritual retreat) sinful if he experiences a wet dream and does not perform Ghusl (ritual bath), postponing it until he wakes up feeling energetic, knowing that he is unable to get up to perform Wudu (ablution) or Ghusl due to exhaustion and overwhelming sleepiness?

The majority of scholars prohibit a person in a state of ritual impurity (janabah (definition)) from remaining in the mosque, while the Hanbalis permit it if the person performs ablution (wudu'). If a person in i'tikaf (seclusion in the mosque) experiences a wet dream and wakes up, he must immediately leave to perform a ritual bath (ghusl (definition)) or ablution (for those who permit staying with only wudu').

If sleep overtakes him and he is unable to get up, there is no harm in delaying the ghusl until he wakes up, as the pen is lifted from the sleeping person. Similarly, if the fatigue and exhaustion reach a level of inability to leave, or if leaving would entail great hardship and difficulty, he may remain out of necessity. However, if the fatigue is less than that and he is able to leave, he must promptly do so. The Hanafis make an exception for a wet dream in the middle of the night, allowing him to remain, though performing tayammum (definition) (dry ablution) is recommended.