Tayammum – What it is and when it should be performed

Tayammum refers to seeking soil to wipe one's face and hands with the intention of preparing oneself for prayer. Allah mentions it in the Quran saying: "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 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.) 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 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 lawful 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.)

The story behind how this gift was given to us is told by Aisha: "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 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.)

It must be stressed that Tayammum is only performed in the advent that there is no water available. You cannot replace the wudu or ghusl with it otherwise 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 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.) Thus 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.

What if a person is sick or injured? 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]

If the water is so cold that it can cause harm to a person – then Taymmum can be peformed 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 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 water is near but danger lurks then one can do Tayammum 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.

If one is short water and wants to save what they have for drinking then Tayammum can be performed 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."

TOMORROW WE WILL DISCUSS HOW TAYAMMUM IS PERFORMED