What is the tayammum in islam? How do you perform tayammum? What are the conditions of tayammum dry ablution?
1) Its Definition and Proofs
The word tayammum lexically means to aim at something and to intend something. In Islamic legal terminology, it means legal cleaning consisting of wiping the face and both arms with the hands that are rubbed on soil or soil-type substance with the intention of wuḍū or ghusl in situations where there is no water to be found or if there is no possibility to use it even if there is water present. It is also obligatory to perform this act with the intention of eliminating the state of impurity. Tayammum is a symbolic process that replaces wuḍū and ghusl and is performed as follows: A person who is not in the state of wuḍū or needs to perform ghusl strikes and rubs both his or her hands on clean soil and then wipes his or her face with his or her hands. Then she or he strikes her or his two hands again and wipes both hands up to the elbows with her or his hands. The person does this with the intention of removing the absence of the state of wuḍū or performing a prayer or performing any other worship or act that is not valid without being in the state of wuḍū.
Accordingly, the farḍ acts of tayammum consist of two wipes (one for the face and one for the lower arms) with one intention. According to Imam Zufar, the intention is not obligatory in tayammum.
Tayammum was made legitimate in the fifth year of Hijra. During the expedition to the Bani Mustaliq, also called the Expedition of Muraysi, the Prophet (saw) and about a thousand Muslim soldiers spent the night in a place without water. When they could not reach the place where there was water and could not find the water to perform ablution for the Dawn Prayer, the following verse was revealed, “… if you are ill, or are traveling, or have just satisfied a want of nature, or have cohabited with a woman, and can find no water-then take resort to pure dust, passing therewith lightly over your face and your hands…”[1] The same verse is repeated in the 43rd verse of Chapter al-Nisā, except for the words pure (tayyiban) and therewith (minhu). The Prophet (saw) also said: “The earth has been made a mosque for us, and its soil is a cleansing for us.”[2], and “The soil is the purifier of the Muslim. As long as there is no water or the state of impurity exists, even if it continues for ten years.”[3]
2) Reasons for Tayammum
Since tayammum is a substitute for wuḍū and ghusl and a legal means of purification, it is permissible only if any one of the following pretexts are present:
a) During the scarcity of water or its unavailability, meaning not having enough water to perform the wuḍū or the ghusl.
The justifications that make tayammum permissible are situations such as not having enough water for wuḍū and ghusl, being excessively far away from water to be reached easily by walking or by a vehicle, the existence of danger on the way to water, not being able to buy water with money, or its price being much higher than its cost. This is because it is stated in the verse; “If you can find no water-then take resort to pure dust, passing therewith lightly over your face and your hands…”[4]
According to Imam Abu Ḥanīfa and Imam Muhammad, if a person who forgets the existence of water and performs tayammum then remembers the existence of the water after performing the prayer, he does not have to perform the prayer again. Here forgetting is like not being able to use water. However, if he remembers the existence of the water while praying, he should stop the prayer and performs ablution with water, and returns to perform the prayer.[5]
b) When one is incapable of using water, even when it is available:
An ill person who is incapable of using the water that is available should perform tayammum due to the fact that using the water is dangerous for health. Moreover, lack of tools and equipment to access the water, physical and geographical conditions which prevent access to water, being in prison, fearing theft of his belongings or enemy attack are all valid reasons to perform tayammum. However, a person who is prevented from using water under duress (ikrāḥ) performs prayer by performing tayammum first, then when the compulsion is eliminated, he should perform ablution with water and repeat the prayer.
c) Fear of illness or delay in recovery:
A person who is afraid he will get ill if he uses water, or if he is ill and is afraid of prolonging his illness or delaying his recovery, should perform tayammum. A Muslim doctor can be consulted on such matters. This action is based upon maxims such as, “necessities make things that are objectionable permissible”, “do not put yourself in danger with your own hands” as well as the principle “get treated when you are ill”. Moreover, the death of a wounded Companion in the time of the Prophet (saw) due to being washed by water is the basis of this ruling. Jabir (ra) narrates: “We went on a journey. One of us was hit by a stone and his head was split open. Then he had a wet dream and asked his friends whether it was permissible for him to perform tayammum. His friends said, “Since you have the ability to use water, we do not think that you have permission for tayammum.” The man performed the ghusl and died afterward. When the situation was reported to the Messenger of Allah (saw), he said: “They killed him, may Allah kill them! Could they not ask when they did not know? The cure for ignorance is inquiry. It would have been sufficient for him to perform tayammum, wrap a bandage over the wound, wipe over it, and washed the other parts of his body.”[6]
d) Extremely cold water:
Fear of death, organ failure, or illness due to using water makes tayammum permissible. It is narrated that ʿAmr Ibn al-ʿĀs, who participated in the Battle of Dhāt al-Thalāsil, had a wet dream on a cold night, performed tayammum, and led his friends in the Dawn Prayer. Upon being criticized for this action, the Messenger of Allah (saw) wanted to listen to the situation for himself. ʿAmr Ibn al-ʿĀs said: “I remembered Allah Almighty’s verse, “Do not kill yourselves, because Allah is very merciful to you” and I led the prayer after performing tayammum. The Messenger of Allah (saw) laughed and did not say anything.”[7]
3) The Way to Perform Tayammum in Accordance With The Sunnah
a) At the beginning of tayammum, one utters the basmala and makes the intention to be cleansed for prayer or worship in general. According to the Ḥanbalis, the basmala is wājib (i.e. obligatory).
b) After striking the hands with open fingers on clean soil, they are pulled back and forth.
c) The excess dust on the hands is shaken off and the whole face is wiped with the hands.
d) After the hands are struck to the ground again, using the inner sides of the fingers, the right arm with the left hand and the left arm with the right hand are wiped up to and including the elbows. According to the Ḥanbalis, the Malikis, and the old view of Imam Shafiʿi, wiping the hands up to the wrists is required, but it is sunnah to wipe up to the elbows. According to the Ḥanafis and the Shafiʿis, the accepted view is that wiping the lower arm including the elbow is required.
e) Following the above sequence, in other words, first the face and then the arms should be wiped and there should be no intermission between two wipings. Following the sequence is a farḍ according to the Shafiʿis and the Ḥanbalis. Not giving intermission between the acts of tayammum is a requirement according to the Malikis and the Ḥanbalis. The Malikis also add another condition not to give intermission between performing tayammum and performing the ritual prayer.
f) Tayammum must be performed after the time of prayer begins.
According to the Ḥanafis, it is permissible to perform tayammum before the time of prayer commences. As long as there is no water and the situation of the excuse continues, a person can perform as many obligatory or supererogatory prayers as he wishes with his tayammum. However, if there is a hope of finding water, it is mandūb to delay tayammum until the end of the prayer time.
According to the majority of schools other than the Ḥanafis, the time of prayer must commence for tayammum to be valid, and more than one obligatory prayer cannot be performed with one tayammum. However, the Ḥanbalis are of the opinion that more than one make-up (qaḍā) prayer can be performed. The majority of jurists have compared tayammum to the ablution of a person with a constant excuse, and they consider tayammum to have been made permissible due to a necessity.
4) Conditions (ashrat) of tayammum:
a) Intention: Even though intention for tayammum is required according to all schools, they have different views about what type of a requirement the intention falls under. According to the Ḥanafis and the Ḥanbalis, the intention is a condition (sharṭ) of tayammum while according to the Shafiʿis and the Malikis, it is a farḍ act of tayammum. Whatever the intention in tayammum consists of, those acts included in the intention become possible and permissible with this type of wuḍū. According to the Ḥanafis with one tayammum, one can perform a farḍ, wājib, or supererogatory prayer as many times as desired. However, it is not permissible to perform tayammum performed with the intention of visiting the graves, reciting the adhān, reciting the iqāmah, and converting to Islam. This is because all these are valid without the performance of wuḍū.
b) Existence of an excuse that makes tayammum permissible: Excuses such as being two kilometers away from the water, even when one is in a city, fear of illness, extreme cold, the fear of enemies and thirst, the absence of tools to access and draw the water, and the fear of missing out on performing a prayer in congregation, which has no substitute such as a funeral, eid or eclipse prayer, makes tayammum However, tayammum is not permissible out of fear that the prayer time will pass for obligatory prayers such as Friday, other obligatory prayers, or witr prayer. For, it is possible to perform noon prayer in place of Friday prayer and to make up other farḍ or wājib prayers.[8]
It is narrated that Ibn Abbas (ra) said, “If you suddenly come across a funeral prayer and you are afraid of missing it because of making wuḍū with water, perform the funeral prayer with tayammum.”[9]
According to the Shafiʿis, it is not permissible to perform tayammum for fear that the prayer time will pass. Only the traveler is excluded.
c) Tayammum must be performed with something clean, such as earth, brick, tile, and plaster. Tayammum cannot be made with wood, ashes, gold, silver, copper, or iron. This is because they are not types of soil. According to the Shafiʿis, the dust from the soil must be transferred to the limbs and that is why only pure dusty soil can be used to perform tayammum.
d) The place of tayammum must be completely wiped.
e) The hands should be struck on clean soil twice, with the first strike the face should be wiped, and on the second strike, the arms up to and including the elbows with the insides of the fingers should be wiped.
f) The end of menstruation or puerperium.[10]
5) Things That Nullify Tayammum
Tayammum is invalidated in the following situations:
a) Anything that invalidates wuḍū and ghusl also invalidates tayammum. This is because tayammum replaces the regular types of ablution. For that reason, a situation that invalidates the original types of ablution also invalidates the one that replaces it. After a person in the state of janabah performs tayammum, if a situation occurs that invalidates his wuḍū, only his wuḍū is considered invalid. He does not revert back to the state of janabah.
b) The termination of the excuse that makes tayammum For instance, the withdrawal of the enemy, the end of cold weather, regaining health after a disease, finding a tool to access and draw water, and a person’s release from prison where there is no water, all these situations invalidate tayammum.
c) Finding water or having the strength to use enough water, even once, invalidates tayammum. According to the Ḥanafis and the Ḥanbalis, if water is found during the prayer, both tayammum and prayer are invalidated. The Malikis are of the opposite view. There is a consensus that if the water is found after performing the prayer, and if the prayer time has ended in the meantime, it will not be necessary to make it up. Moreover, even if water has been found during the prayer time, it is not necessary to make the prayer up according to the majority, except for the Shafiʿ According to the Shafiʿis, in this case, if the person is a resident, he makes it up, but the traveler does not.
d) According to the Ḥanbalis, if the prayer time ends; according to the Shafiʿis, apostasy (irtidāt); and according to the Malikis, the passage of a long period of time between performing the tayammum and prayer invalidates the tayammum. However, according to the Ḥanafis, tayammum is not invalidated by these above-mentioned cases.[11]
[1] Al-Mā’ida, 5: 6.[2] Al-Shawkanī, Nayl al-Awṭār, I, 258.[3] Al-Zaylaī, Naṣb al-Rāya, I, 48.[4] Al-Mā’ida, 5: 6.[5] Ibn al-Humām, Fatḥ al-Qadīr, I, 97; Ibn Abidīn, Radd al-Mukhtār, I, 330; al-Zuhaylī, al-Fiqh al-Islamī wa Adillatuh, I, 417 ff.[6] Al-Shawkanī, ibid, I, 257.[7] Al-Shawkanī, ibid, I, 258; See al-Baqara, 2: 195.[8] Al-Kāsānī, ibid, I, 51; Ibn al-Humām, ibid, I, 96; Ibn Abidīn, ibid, I, 223-227; al-Shurunbulālī, ibid, 19 ff.[9] Al-Zuhaylī, ibid, I, 422.[10] Al-Kāsānī, ibid, ı, 52 ff.; Ibn Abidīn, ibid, I, 213-228; Al-Shurunbulālī, ibid, p. 19 ff.[11] Al-Kāsānī, ibid, I, 56; Ibn al-Humām, ibid, I, 91 ff., Ibn Abidīn, ibid, I, 224. ibid, I, 449.
Source: Basic Islamic Principles (ilmiḥal) According to the Four Sunni Schools With Evidence From The Sources of Islamic Law, Prof. Hamdi Döndüren, Erkam Publications