Part III: Tayammum
Q. What is Ta-yam-mum?
A. To clean najaasat hukmi
using taahir (clean) clay or earth or the like is called Tayammum.
Q. When is tayammum
valid?
A. When water is not available or
when the use of water is injurious to health.
Q. What is meant by water being
“not available”?
A. When water is at least a mile
away or there is fear of enemy if one goes to find water. For example, a well is
nearby the house but to go there may result in your getting killed by an enemy
or a dangerous snake or a man-eating animal. Or if there is so little water that
if used for wuduu’ it will cause trouble of thirst. Or the well
is there but no bucket nor rope. Or if a person is alone and is helpless to get
water which is present nearby: all these conditions mean that water is “not
available.”
Q. When should the danger to
health be considered?
A. When it is known by one’s own
experience or when an experienced physician tells that the use of water will be
injurious for the health, then tayammum is allowed.
Q. What is meant by water being
at least a mile away?
A. When a man is at a place where
there is no water but is told or he himself knows that water is available at a
mile’s distance, it will be necessary for him to go get the water and do wuduu’.
But if there is no one to tell and there is no trace of water or is believed
that it is a mile or more away, it is not necessary to get water. Tayammum
is allowed in such a case.
Q. How many things are fard
in tayammum?
A. Three:
Q. Explain how to do tayammum.
A. First, there should be the niyyah
(I am doing tayammum to remove najaasat for performing prayers).
Second, rub both hands on taahir earth and blow of the
excessive dust. Then rub both the hands on the face in such a way that no part
of it is left out. Even a hair-breadth of unrubbed space will not complete tayammum.
Third, rub again both the hands on the earth. Blow off the dust. First put
the four fingers of the left hand under the finger tips of the right hand and
pull them up to the elbow. In this way, pull over the inner part of the right
hand, from the elbow to the fingers. Pass the inner side of the left thumb over
the upper side of the right thumb. Then pass the right hand on the left in the
same way.
Then do khilaal of the fingers. If one is wearing a ring, it is
necessary to remove it or at least revolve it. It is sunnah to do khilaal
of the beard also.
Q. Is tayammum allowed
for wuduu’ and ghusl both or for wuduu’
only?
A. Tayammum is allowed for
both.
Q. On what things is tayammum
allowed?
A. Tayammum is allowed on
clean, pure earth or sand, stone or lime-stone, baked earthen pots which are not
glazed, baked or unbaked bricks, walls of mud, stone or lime-stone or yellow
clay. Tayammum on clean dust is also allowed.
Q. On what things is tayammum
not allowed?
A Tayammum is not
allowed on wood, metals, glass, wheat, barley or other foodgrains, cloth and
ashes. Tayammum is not allowed on things which may melt or burn to ashes
if put in a fire.
Q. Is tayammum allowed if
there is no dust on the walls made of stone, bricks or lime?
A. Things on which tayammum
is allowed need not be covered with dust. If there is a pot of stone, or clay,
or a brick, it can be used for tayammum even if it has been washed.
Q. Can tayammum be done
with the dust that collects over the things on which tayammum is
otherwise not allowed?
A. Yes, if the dust is in such a
quantity that when struck by hand it flies up, or rubbing by hand leaves a mark
in the dust, then tayammum is allowed with it.
Q. Is one allowed to say prayers
by tayammum done for touching or reading the Holy Qur’aan or for
entering a mosque or saying adhaan or replying to salaam?
A. No, it is not allowed. [Niyyah
is necessary for tayammum.]
Q. By tayammum done for namaaz
janaazah (funeral prayer) or sajdah tilaawat (prostration
necessitated by reciting or hearing certain aayaat of the Qur’aan) can
prayers be said?
A. Yes, it is allowed.
Q. What if tayammum is
done when the water is not available but one finds water after one has said
prayers?
A. Prayers said already are all
right. It will not be repeated whether the water was found at the time of
prayers or afterwards.
Q. What breaks tayammum?
A. Things which break wuduu’
also break tayammum. Also tayammum for bathing breaks only after hadath-e-akbar.
Tayammum breaks when water is found. Tayammum done due to a
disease ends when one recovers.
Q. Does tayammum for one
prayer hold good for prayers at another time?
A. One can say any number of
prayers by one tayammum as long as it does not break. So tayammum
done for fard prayers will hold good for nafl, for reading
the Qur’aan, for namaaz janaazah, sajdah tilaawat and for all
other kinds of prayers.
Q. What is the duration of tayammum?
A. As long as water is not
available or the helplessness continues. This can last for years.
