Tayammum (Dry Wudu)

Tayammum (Dry Wudu) is a ritual of purification used when water is unavailable or its use is restricted or one is unable to use it due to an illness or a legal excuse to replace Wudu (ablution) or Ghusl.

Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala said:

"O you who have believed! When you intend to offer As-Salaah (the prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows and rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. If you are in the state of Janaba, purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or any of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have been in contact with women, and do not find water, then perform tayammum with clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not want to place you in difficulty, but he wants to purify you, and complete His Favor upon you that you may be thankful." (5:6)

Narrated Urwa's father: Aisha said, "I borrowed a necklace from Asma and it was lost. So Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)  sent a man to search for it and he found it. Then the time of the prayer became due and there was no water. They prayed (without ablution) and informed Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)  about it, so the verse of Tayammum was revealed." Usaid bin Hudair said to Aisha, "May Allah reward you. By Allah, whenever anything happened which you did not like, Allah brought good for you and for the Muslims in that." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Narrated Imran bin Husain Al-Khuzai: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)  saw a person sitting aloof and not praying with the people. He asked him, "O so and so! What prevented you from offering the prayer with the people?" He replied, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I am Junub and there is no water. "The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Perform Tayammum with clean earth and that will be sufficient for you." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abdur Rahman bin Abza: A man came to Umar bin Al-Khattab and said, "I became Junub but no water was available." Ammar bin Yasir said to Umar, "Do you remember that you and I (became Junub while both of us) were together on a journey and you didn't pray but I rolled myself on the ground and prayed? I informed the Prophet (ﷺ) about it and he said, 'It would have been sufficient for you to do like this.' The Prophet (ﷺ) then stroked lightly the earth with his hands and then blew off the dust and passed his hands over his face and hands." (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Juhaim Al-Ansari: "The Prophet (ﷺ) came from the direction of Bir Jamal. A man met him and greeted him. But he did not return back the greeting till he went to a (mud) wall and wiped his face and hands with its dust (performed Tayammum) and then returned back the greeting." (Bukhari)

How to perform Tayammum:

1. Make the intention 
2. Say Bismillah 
3. Strike your hands while parting the fingers on a clean earth such as sand, sand saline, wall of mud or stone. Blow off the dust if any
4. Wipe the face with the palms of the hands once
5. Wipe the backs of the hands with the palms once (wipe the back of the right hand with the palm of the left hand and wipe the back of the left hand with the palm of the right hand)

Things that nullify Tayammum:

• Any major or minor impurity such as passing of wind, urine, stool or discharge or anything that nullifies wudu would nullify Tayammum.
• When water is available (if tayammum was performed due the lack of water) and when the circumstances such as illness or injury that required the Tayammum no longer apply. 

Note: According to "A Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence" by Dr Salih Al-Fawzan, it is permissible to strike the earth twice, one strike for wiping the face and second strike for wiping the back of the hands. Tayammum is performed when water is unavailable or water is available but is insufficient, inability to use water due to an illness/medical conditions or the use of water may cause or increase the harm to an injury or fear of catching cold. Tayammum allows Muslim to fulfill any acts of worship that require wudu with water such as prayer, tawaf (Circumambulation) around the Kabah and touching the Quran. If the person finds water after performing Tayammum or during the prayer. The person is to perform wudu with water. But if the person finds water after prayer, that prayer is valid and the person is not required to repeat that prayer. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: Two persons set out on a journey. Meanwhile the time of prayer came and they had no water. They performed tayammum with clean earth and prayed. Later on they found water within the time of the prayer. One of them repeated the prayer and ablution but the other did not repeat. Then they came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and related the matter to him. Addressing himself to the one who did not repeat, he said: You followed the sunnah (model behavior of the Prophet) and your (first) prayer was enough for you. He said to the one who performed ablution and repeated: "For you there is the double reward." (Adu Dawud). According to "A Summary of Islamic Jurisprudence" by Dr Salih Al-Fawzan that "if one finds neither water nor earth, or is unable to use either, it is permissible for one then to perform prayer with neither ablution nor tayammum, for Allah "does not charge a soul except with that within its capacity", one does not requires to re-perform that prayer"

*** For more information on Tayammum please refer to the Quran the book of Allah and  Books of Hadiths.