Tayammum

Definition: Tayammum is a purification with earth that consists of wiping the face and the hands with intention (*niyya*).

Tayammum requires two matters:

- The first matter: the absence of water, that is, that one does not find it after a lengthy search, or fears that the time of prayer will leave, or finds water that is not enough for his wuḍūʾ or ghusl. - The second matter: fear of harm from using it, that is, if by using water his illness increases or his recovery is prolonged.

The seeking of water differs according to people's circumstances: it is not the same for a man and a woman, nor for an old man and a young man.

Pillars of tayammum:

- The first of them is the *niyya* (intention), which is in the heart, at the first strike — that is, placing the palms of both hands on the *ṣaʿīd* (earth). - Tayammum does not lift the *ḥadath* (state of impurity); rather, by it one intends the permissibility of prayer (*istibāḥat al-ṣalāh*). - The *ṣaʿīd* is everything that appears on the surface of the earth among the pure things, whether stone or soil.

The obligation (farḍ): one strike, with which we wipe the face and the hands up to the wrists (*kūʿān*). We do not comb through the beard (*takhlīl*), however it may be. When combing through, we comb with the inner side of the fingers and the inner palm; and it is not permitted to comb with the side of the finger, because it did not touch the *ṣaʿīd*.

The sunna: a first strike with which we wipe the face, and a second strike with which we wipe up to the elbows (*mirfaqān*).

**With *fawr* (immediacy):** that is, no long separation between the acts.

The prayers: every prayer is performed with its own tayammum as regards the obligatory prayers; as for the supererogatory (*nāfila*), it is permitted to pray with the same tayammum if it has not been nullified.

The nullifiers of tayammum are three:

1. Everything that nullifies wuḍūʾ. 2. And everything that makes ghusl obligatory, likewise. 3. The presence of water before the prayer.