Question Summary:
Is one liable for their actions performed in their dream?

Question Detail:

Is one liable for verbaly abusing ones wife in their sleep...you see if a husband verbaly abuses ones wife while he is half asleep and half awake...to the point were he cannot stop himself from saying bad things to his wife for a few seconds only before he fully awakens,is one sinful for his actions?
would there be some other element at work here as the husband would not say these things to his wife if he was completely fully awake? 

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
 
It is stated in the hadith:
 
رفع القلم عن ثلاث عن النائم حتى يستيقظ وعن الصغير حتى يكبر وعن المجنون حتى يعقل أو يفيق[1]
"The pen has been lifted for three: the sleeper until he wakes up, the child until he reaches puberty, and the insane until he regains his sanity." 
It is clear from the above quoted hadith that a person is excused from anything done or said in his sleep.
However, it is also important to know that a dream could be a reflection of what is in one`s mind or his general habit. It is possible that one may be very crude and harsh and that has reflected in his dream. If so, one should reform himself and change his attitude and conduct.
If one is not crude and harsh and the dream is not a reflection of one`s bad attitude, then regard the dream to be a whisper (waswasa) of the Shaitaan.[2] As such, do not pay attention to the dream. Simply ignore the dream and say
"لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله".^[3]
("La' hawla wa la' quwwata illa' billah")
 
“There is no might or power except with Allah.”
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Abdul Mannan Nizami
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, IL U.S.A.
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.