Definition. Literally tayammum means "aim, purpose."
In Islamic law, it refers to "aiming for or seeking soil
to wipe one's face and hands with the intention of preparing
oneself to pray, and so on."
This is proven by the Qur'an, sunnah and ijma' (consensus).
The Qur'an says, "And if you are ill, or on a journey, or
one of you comes from relieving himself, or you have touched
women, and you do not find water, then go to high clean soil
and rub your face and hands (therewith). Lo, Allah is Benign,
Forgiving" (an-Nisa': 43). From the sunnah we have the
hadith related by Abu Umamah in which the Prophet, upon whom
be peace, said, "All of the earth has been made for me
and my nation a pure place of prayer. Whenever a person from
my nation wants to pray, he has something with which to purify
himself, that is, the earth." (Related by Ahmad.)
Finally, there is a consensus that tayammum forms a legitimate
part of the shari'ah, as it replaces ablution or ghusl under
specific circumstances.
This form of ablution is viewed as a blessing from Allah to
the Muslims. Jabir relates that the Prophet, upon whom be
peace, said, "I have been given five things that were not
given to anyone before me: I have been made victorious due to
fear for a distance of one month's journey; the earth has been
made a place of prayer for me--wherever and whoever of my
nation wants to pray, he may pray; and the war booty has been
made lawfal for me, and this was not lawful for anyone before
me. I have been given permission to intercede. The prophets
used to be raised for their own people only, but I have been
raised for all of mankind." (Related by al-Bukhari and
Muslim.)
Said 'Aishah, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah
on one of his journeys until we reached Baida'. At this place,
one of my bracelets broke and fell somewhere. The Messenger of
Allah and others began to look for it. There was no water at
that place, nor did anyone have any water with him. The people
went to Abu Bakr and said, "Do you see what your daughter
has done?" Abu Bakr came to me, while the Prophet was
sleeping on my thigh. He blamed me and said to me whatever
Allah willed him to say. He also poked me in my side. I could
not move, for the Prophet, upon whom be peace, was sleeping on
my lap. He slept until the morning without any water
available. Then, Allah revealed the verse of tayammum. As-Sayyid
ibn Huzhain said, 'That was not the first blessing from the
family of Abu Bakr.' The camel that I was on got up and we
found the necklace underneath it." (Related by "the
group," except for at-Tirmizhi.)
'Imran bin Husain said, "We were with the Messenger of
Allah during a journey. When he led the people in prayer, one
man stayed apart. He asked him, "What prevented you from
praying?" He said, 'I need a post-nocturnal bath and
there is no water.' He said, 'Use the soil, for it is
sufficient.''' (Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
Abu Zharr related that the Prophet, upon whom be peace,
said, "The soil is a purifier for a Muslim, even if he
does not find water for twenty years." (Related by
"the four." At-Tirmizhi grades it hassan sahih.) But
before one makes tayammum, he must look for water from any
posible source. If he is sure water is not to be found or it
is too far away, he does not have to look for it.
If one is in this condition, and believes water will worsen
it (he does not have to be absolutely sure, but may base his
opinion on past experience or what a knowledgeable person has
told him), he may perform tayammum. Jabir said, "We were
on a journey and one of us got injured. Later, he had a wet
dream. He asked his companions, 'Can I perform tayammum?' They
said, 'No, not if you have water.' He performed ghusl and
died. When they came to the Messenger of Allah, they informed
him of what had transpired. He said, 'They killed him, Allah
will kill them. Do you not ask if you do not know? The rescue
of the ignorant person is the question. He could have
performed tayammum and dropped water on his wound or wrapped
it with something and wipe over the wrapping, and wash the
rest of his body." This is related by Abu Dawud, Ibn
Majah, ad-Daraqutni and Ibn as-Sakin, who said it is sahih.
This is only allowed on the condition that he can find no
one to heat it, or is unable to use the public bathrooms. 'Amr
ibn al-'Aas narrated that he was participating in an
expedition. He had a wet dream during an extremely cold night,
and was afraid that if he performed ghusl he would die. He
prayed the morning prayer with his companions. He then went to
the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, to ask him about
this. Muhammad said, "O 'Amr, did you pray with your
companions while you needed a post-nocturnal bath?" 'Amr
mentioned the verse, "Do not kill yourselves, Allah is
merciful to you" to the Prophet. The Prophet just laughed
and didn't say anything. (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Hakim,
ad-Daraqutni, Ibn Hibban and al-Bukhari in mu'allaq form.)
This example illustrated the Prophet's tacit approval.
If one fears for his life, family, wealth, (for example, if
an enemy is nearby--beast or human--or one is a prisoner, and
so on), one may perform tayammum. This is also allowed if
there is water but one lacks the proper means to get it, or if
one fears some accusation against him if he gets it.
This could be for a hound, for dough, cooking or to remove
an impurity that is not pardonable. Says Imam Ahmad,
"Many of the companions performed tayammum to save their
water for drinking." 'Ali said that a man who is
travelling and becomes unclean because of sex or a wet dream
can perform tayammum if he fears he will go thirsty: "He
should perform tayammum and not ghusl." (Related by ad-Daraqutni.)
Says Ibn Taimiyyah, "If a person needs to relieve himself
but has only a small amount of water, it is best that he pray
with tayammum and relieve himself, rather than keep his
ablution and pray before relieving himself."
It must be pure soil: this can be sand, stone, gypsum, and
so on. Says Allah, "Perform tyammum with pure soil,"
and all scholars of Arabic agree that "soil" is
whatever covers the earth, dirt or otherwise.
First, one must have the intention (see the section on
ablution). Then, he mentions Allah's name, strikes the soil
with his hands, wipes his face and his hands up to the wrist.
Nothing is more authentic and clear than what 'Ammar related.
He said, "We became sexually impure and had no water, so
we rolled in the dirt and prayed. This was mentioned to the
Prophet and he said, 'This would have been enough for you,'
and he struck the earth with his hands, blew in them and then
wiped his face and hands with them." (Related by al-Bukhari
and Muslim). In another text he states, "It would have
been enough for you to strike the ground with your hands, blow
into them, then wipe your face and hands up to the
elbows." (Related by ad-Daraqutni.)
This hadith shows that one strike of the earth is
sufficient, and one only wipes the arms to the wrists. It is
from the sunnah that one who makes tayammum with dirt should
blow into his hands first and not make his face dusty or
dirty.
After doing so, he is pure and may do any of the acts
requiring prior purification, such as praying and touching the
Qur'an. He does not have to perform it during the time of
prayer, and he may pray as many prayers as he wishes (unless
he nullifies it), exactly as he can after performing the
regular ablution. Abu Zharr reported that the Prophet said,
"The soil is a purifier for a Muslim, even if he does not
find water for twenty years. Then if he touches water, that
is, to make ablution, and so on, it would be good." This
is related by Ahmad and at-Tirmizhi, who said it is sahih.
In addition to the presence of water, everything that
nullifies the ablution nullifies tayammum. If a person prays
after performing tayammum and then finds water, he does not
need to repeat his prayer even if there is time left to do so.
Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri said, "Two men went out on a
journey. The time of prayer came and, as they had no water,
they performed tayammum. Then they found some water during the
time of the same prayer. One of them repeated his prayer with
ablution and the other did not. When they saw the Messenger of
Allah, they asked him about the proper procedure in such a
case. He said to the one who did not repeat his prayer, 'You
have acted according to the sunnah and your prayer is
sufficient for you.' He said to the other, 'You will get a
double reward."' (Related by Abu Dawud and anNasa'i.) If
one comes across water before he prays or finishes his prayer
with tayammum, his prayer becomes null and void, for he must
make ablution with water. If a person is not clean because of
sex or a wet dream, or a woman is menstruating, and they pray
after performing tayammum, they need not repeat their prayer
after finding water, but they must perform ghusl with water
when they can. 'Umar said, "The Prophet led the people in
prayer, and afterwards saw a man who had not prayed. He said,
'Why didn't you pray with us?' The man replied, 'I was
sexually unclean and there was no water.' He told him, 'Use
the soil, and it will be enough.' 'Imran then mentioned that
they later found water. The Prophet, upon whom be peace,
brought a bowl of water for the man and told him to perform
ghusl. (Related by al-Bukhari.)
It is allowable to wipe over any wrapper or diseased or
injured bodily part. There are many hadith on this point, and
although they are all weak, their many chains strengthen each
other, making them valid to talk about. One hadith, that of
Jabir (quoted earlier), relates a story about a man who was on
a journey and suffered an injury. While he slept, he had a wet
dream, after which he asked his companions if he could perform
tayammum. They said he could not, so he made ghusl and died
because of it. When that was mentioned to the Prophet, he said
"They killed him, may Allah kill them. Do you not ask
about what you do not know? ... It would have been enough for
him to perform tayammum and drop a little water over his wound
or else wipe it, then to wipe it and wash the rest of the
body." This is related by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, ad-Daraqutni
and Ibn as-Sakin, who classified it as sahih. Ibn 'Umar used
to do this.
In fact, it is obligatory to wipe over such casts or
wrappers in ablution or ghusl instead of washing the injured
parts. This must be done even if he has to heat the water.
But, if he believes that this would harm the diseased or
injured part, or that his condition may worsen, or that his
pain would increase, he may wipe the injured part with water.
If he fears that this would also be harmful, he should wrap it
and then gently wipe over it. It is not necessary for him to
be in a state of purity while applying the cast or wrapper to
be wiped. There is also no time limit for such wipings, for he
can do so as long as his condition lasts. Removing the wrapper
or cast nullifies the wiping, as does the final cure.
Whoever cannot get water or soil may pray in whatever state
he is in, and he will not have to repeat his prayer later.
This is based on what Muslim related from 'Aishah. She had
borrowed some jewelry from 'Asma and it broke (and fell). The
Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, sent some people to
search for it. The prayer time came and they had to pray
without ablution. When they came to the Prophet, they
complained to him and the verses of tayammum were revealed.
Usaid ibn Huzhair said, "May Allah give you good
recompense. Allah never reveals an order with respect to you
except that He removes by it some hardship and gives the
Muslims some benefit." The companions prayed while in a
state of impurity, but the Prophet did not admonish them nor
did he order them to repeat their prayers. Says an-Nawawi,
"That is the strongest statement of proof (on this
question)."
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