Question: In what cases is it permissible to do tayammum?
ANSWER
If there is no water available to perform wudu' or ghusl or if, though there is water available, it is not possible to use it, one can do tayammum with any sort of clean earthen thing, such as clean soil, sand, lime, and stone. According to the Hanafi Madhhab, tayammum can be done before the time for a fard salat arrives. However, according to the other three madhhabs, it is not permissible to do it before the time for a fard salat has come.

The chief conditions under which tayammum become permissible are as follows:
1. When one is unable to find clean water to perform wudu' or ghusl (it is always fard [obligatory] to search for water when one is in a city),
2. When one is afflicted with a disease that prevents one from using water or when there is the danger that one would die or fall sick because of cold if one used water,
3. When near water is an enemy, a wild or poisonous animal that will set upon,
4. When one cannot use water because one is imprisoned,
5. When one is threatened with death,
6. When a traveler does not have extra water other than that which he will drink,
7. When, though there is a well, it is not possible to extract water from it.

Question: How many obligatory elements (fards) are there in tayammum?
ANSWER
There are three obligatory elements in tayammum:
1. Making intention (niyyah),
2. Rubbing the palms of both hands on clean soil and wiping the entire face thoroughly with them,
3. Striking the hands on clean soil and wiping the right arm first and then the left one.

Those scholars who say that tayammum has two obligatory elements explain the second and the third acts under the same item.

Question: What are the sunnat elements of tayammum?
ANSWER
The sunnat elements of tayammum are as follows:
1. To put the palms on soil,
2. To move the palms back and forth on soil,
3. To strike the thumbs together until there is no soil left if there is soil on the palms,
4. To open the fingers when putting the hands on soil,
5. To say the Basmala at the beginning of it,
6. To wipe the face first and then the arms,
7. To perform it in the same quick manner as done in wudu',
8. If a person on a journey is sure that there is water within 1,920 meters, it is fard for him to look for it. If he presumes that there is water, then it is sunnat to look for it.
9. To wipe the right arm first and then the left one,
10. To put the hands on soil strongly as if you were hitting it,
11. To wipe the arms as described below,
12. To wipe in between the fingers and move all rings when doing it.

Question: What things should be born in mind in the performance of tayammum?
ANSWER
They are as follows:

1. If a person who is not in a state of wudu' performs tayammum in order to teach it to his student, he cannot perform salat with it.

2. Intending solely for tayammum does not make the tayammum adequate for performing salat with it. When doing tayammum, it is also necessary to intend to perform salat with it.

3. Several people can do tayammum on the same soil because soil and the like do not become musta'mal (used) when they are used for tayammum. The dust that falls from the hands and face after tayammum is considered musta’mal.

4. According to the madhhabs of Shafi'i and Hanbali, tayammum is done only with soil. According to the other two madhhabs, tayammum can be performed with any sort of clean earthen thing even if there is no dust on it. Things that can be melted by heat are not earthen. Therefore, tayammum cannot be done on a tree, grass, wood, iron, brass, a wall painted with oil-based paint, copper, gold, or glass. It can be made with sand. It cannot be made with pearls or corals. It can be made with marble washed with lime and plaster of Paris; cement; unglazed faience, unglazed porcelain, or unglazed earthenware pots; and mud. If there is mud only, tayammum can be performed with it, if the water in it is less than fifty percent.

5. It is permissible to perform various salats with a single tayammum.

6. When a traveler thinks it highly probable through certain indications or after being informed by a Muslim who is adil (a Sunni Muslim who avoids grave sins and who does not habitually commit venial sins) and has reached the age of discretion and puberty that he will find water at a distance less than two kilometers, it is fard for him to look for water by walking or sending somebody for two hundred meters in each direction. If he does not have a strong expectation, he does not have to look for water.

7. If one who has an adil person with him does tayammum without asking about water and starts to perform salat and then is told by the adil person that there is water available, he must perform wudu' with water and repeat that salat.

8. It is permissible to perform salat with tayammum while water is more than two kilometers away.

9. A person who forgets that there is water among his provisions can perform salat with tayammum if he is not in a city or in a village.

10. If a person who thinks his water has run out sees after salat that he has water, he repeats the salat that he performed with tayammum.

11. One can do tayammum while there is water placed on the way or in the desert for drinking.

12. If a person who is junub (one who needs ghusl) does tayammum and then it breaks, he does not become junub again. If there is some water available, he does only wudu' with it.

13. If a junub person has a disease, such as a wound, smallpox, or scarlet fever, on more than half of his body, he does tayammum. If the majority of his body is sound and if it is possible to wash himself without wetting the diseased parts, he takes ghusl. If he cannot wash himself without wetting the diseased parts, then he does tayammum.

Question: What is the method of doing tayammum?
ANSWER
1. First, one must intend to purify oneself from janabat (major ritual impurity) or from the state of being without wudu'.

Intending solely for tayammum does not make the tayammum adequate for performing salat with it. It is also necessary to intend to do something which is an act of worship, for example, to intend to do tayammum in order to perform Salat al-Janaza or Sajda at-Tilawah (Prostration of Recitation), or to intend to do tayammum as a substitute for wudu' or ghusl.

When intending for tayammum it is not necessary to separate wudu' and ghusl from each other. By intending for wudu', one becomes purified from janabat, too. One can perform salat with the tayammum one has done in order to be purified from janabat. A second tayammum for wudu' is unnecessary.

2. Both sleeves should be rolled up to above the elbows and the two palms should be rubbed on clean soil, stone, or on a wall plastered with soil or lime. Then one must make masah (wiping) on one's face with both palms once, that is, rub them on the face gently with at least three fingers touching the face. If any part of the face as large as the point of a pin is left untouched by the hands, the tayammum will not be valid.

To make a perfect masah on the face, the two open palms, with four fingers of each hand closed together and with the two long fingers of both hands touching each other, are put on the forehead, the fingers on the hairline, and moved slowly down towards the chin. The fingers, in a level line, must be rubbed on the forehead, on the eyelids, on both sides of the nose, on the lips, and on the facial part of the chin. Meanwhile the palms will be rubbed on the cheeks.

3. After putting both hands on the soil for a second time and hitting the hands together so as to shake the excessive dust and soil off, first rub the inside of the four fingers of the left hand on the outer face of the right arm from the tip of the fingers to the elbow, then rub the left palm on the inner face of the right arm from the elbow down to the palm, and then rub the inside of the left thumb on the outer part of the right thumb. All rings must be removed. Then rub the right hand likewise on the left arm. The palms must be rubbed on the soil, but the dust and soil need not be left on the hands.

The tayammum for wudu' and for ghusl is the same.

Question: What things break tayammum?
ANSWER
When the excuse that allows one to do tayammum ends or when one finds water or when a thing that invalidates wudu' or ghusl occurs, one's tayammum is nullified, too.

Question: If one does tayammum without asking someone else whether there is water available and performs salat with it and then sees that there was water available, will one have to repeat that salat?
ANSWER
If one who has an adil person with him performs tayammum without asking about water and starts to perform salat and then is told by the adil person that there is water available, one must perform wudu' with the water and repeat that salat.

Question: If one, though there is a well, is unable to extract water from it and does tayammum and performs salat and then obtains means to extract water from it, will one have to repeat that salat?
ANSWER
If one cannot find a bucket and rope to extract water from a well or if one cannot find any water for sale, one does tayammum in such a case, and one does not have to repeat one's salat upon finding water.

Question: Can a sick person who is forbidden from taking a bath by a salih (a Muslim who does not sin openly) doctor do tayammum for ghusl?
ANSWER
Yes, he can.

Question: Does a paralyzed person who lacks the ability to do even tayammum have to perform salat?
ANSWER
The one who helps that person with his or her activities of daily living should assist him or her in doing tayammum. Such a person should perform salat through gestures and may combine two salats if need be.

Question: If any part of the face or arms as large as the point of a pin is left untouched by the hands, will tayammum be valid?
ANSWER
It will not be valid if one knows that any part as large as the point of a pin was left untouched. However, it will be valid, even if much more place than this amount is left untouched, on condition that one does not know that one did so.

Question: Is it permissible to wipe the face or arms several times if one has doubts about the validity of tayammum?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible, but this should not lead to baseless misgivings (waswasa).

Question: A relative of mine who is very old and sick becomes tired out when he does wudu'. Is it permissible for him to do tayammum so that he may not get tired?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible.

Question: Is it permissible to do tayammum on a piece of brick that is as small as a match box?
ANSWER
No, it is not.

Question: Is it permissible to do tayammum on wood ashes?
ANSWER
No, it is not.

Question: When on night duty, I sleep in a room used as a masjid. I have to go out of it very often. Do I have to perform wudu' every time before I step into this room?
ANSWER
No, you do not. But you had better do tayammum every time before you enter there.

Question: If someone has a problem with his hand and thus has doubts about the validity of his tayammum because he thinks that some part is usually left untouched, what should he do?
ANSWER
If he has doubts about it, he should request someone else to help him do tayammum. If there is not anyone to be asked for help, he should do it as much as he is able to.

Question: If a person who is 1,920 meters away from water source has a car, is he allowed to do tayammum?
ANSWER
Yes, he is.

Question: If a person puts on khuffs after doing tayammum and then finds water, is it permissible to do masah over the khuffs when he performs wudu' with water?
ANSWER
A person who puts on khuffs after performing tayammum is not allowed to do masah over them when he makes wudu' with water. He has to wash his feet.

Question: If using water for ghusl causes worsening of a disease and a delay in recovery, is it permissible to do tayammum instead of it?
ANSWER
A sick person can make tayammum if it is understood that having wudu', ghusl, or moving will worsen the sickness and delay the healing, either through his past experience or through the words of a specialized Muslim doctor (who does not commit sins openly).

Question: Is it haram if people see the awrat parts of a person taking ghusl?
ANSWER
Yes, it is haram. When there is a darurat (strong necessity) involving performing ghusl, a man cannot open his awrat parts in the presence of other men and a woman cannot do it in the presence of other women. Under such conditions, it is necessary to do tayammum instead of ghusl. If doing a commandment will cause one to commit a haram, one must not do the commandment lest one will commit the haram. Similarly, if doing a sunnat will cause one to commit a makruh or haram act, one must not do the sunnat then.

Question: Can a person who has done wudu' follow an imam in salat who has done tayammum?
ANSWER
A person who has done wudu' can follow someone in salat who has done tayammum, and a person who performs salat standing can follow someone who performs salat sitting.

Question: If one missed salats when one was healthy, can one make them up by doing tayammum if one is sick?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible. It is permissible to make them up through gestures, too.

Question: Is it permissible to do tayammum in order not to miss Salat al-Jumu'ah?
ANSWER
If one does not have enough time to do wudu' with water, it is not permissible to do tayammum instead of it in order not to miss Salat al-Jumu'ah because a person who is not able to perform it performs Salat az-Zuhr.

Question: If one who is junub (one who needs ghusl) does tayammum because he cannot find water, does one become junub again when one's tayammum breaks?
ANSWER
No, one does not become junub according to the Hanafi Madhhab. But one becomes junub according to the Maliki Madhhab.

Question: Supposing a person is on a piece of open land and the weather is extremely cold. If he knows that he will fall ill if he takes ghusl, what should he do?
ANSWER
If there is the danger that a person, when he takes ghusl, may die or become ill because of cold, he does tayammum for ghusl and wudu' with water. If he, though he is in a city, does not have enough money to go to a bath and has no other alternative, he does tayammum instead of ghusl and performs wudu' with water.

Question: Is it permissible to do tayammum for wudu' or ghusl if there is a danger near water?
ANSWER
If water source is close but there is an enemy, a wild or poisonous animal, a fire or a guard near the water, or if he is imprisoned, or if someone threatens him with death or takes away his possessions if he makes wudu' with water, he does tayammum instead and performs salat. But since these are caused by creatures, he has to repeat those salats he performed with tayammum after he takes ghusl and does wudu'. If it is not possible to perform them within their specified times, it is necessary to perform them after their times are over. (Radd-ul-mukhtar)

Question: When one does tayammum, can one perform several fard salats with it until it breaks?
ANSWER
According to the Hanafi Madhhab, one can perform as many fard salats as one wishes. That is, one is allowed to perform several fard salats and as many make-up salats as one wishes until one's tayammum is nullified. However, according to the other three madhhabs, tayammum is done when the prescribed time for a fard salat has come, and only that fard salat is performed with this tayammum. If one wants to perform a make-up salat within this time, a fresh tayammum is necessary. The exception is that one can offer as many sunnat and voluntary salats as one likes. If one performs sunnat salats with the intention of both making up missed salats and offering the sunnat salats, one must renew tayammum. One must also renew it when the time for the subsequent fard salat comes. (Mizan-ul-Kubra)

Question: I have severe stitches on my legs, face, and three other parts of my body. For this reason, I cannot perform ghusl or wudu'. I am forbidden to let them get into contact with water. Is it permissible for me to omit salats and to make them up later?
ANSWER
It is haram to omit salats unless there is a legitimate excuse accepted by Islam. If it is not possible for you to cover your wounds with something and to perform ghusl and wudu', you should do tayammum and offer salats through gestures. If you cannot offer them sitting, you can offer them lying.

Question: Supposing a person decided to perform Salat al-Witr after midnight. When he woke up, he noticed that he had had a nocturnal emission. And there was not enough water to take ghusl because of a water outage. Is it permissible to do tayammum in such a case?
ANSWER
Being unable to find water when one is in a city is not an acceptable reason for doing tayammum. One can take ghusl with 2 or 3 liters of water with no trouble whatsoever, and it is possible to find such an amount of water. That is, one can find spring water or bottled water, or one can ask a neighbor for water. One should take precautions beforehand against such a situation and other emergencies. To that end, one should keep bottles of water handy at home. Water or power outages are usual things taking place in cities, so one should be prepared for them.

Question: If one fears that the prescribed time for a salat will expire if one performs wudu' with water, can one do tayammum though there is water available?
ANSWER
Tayammum cannot be done if there is water available. One must make wudu' with water even if it may result in one's missing of a salat. (Quduri)

Question: I have had a surgical operation, so I cannot make wudu' with water. What materials, apart from soil, can be used for tayammum?
ANSWER
Tayammum can be done with soil or with any sort of earthen thing, such as sand, lime, plaster of Paris, stone, marble, cement, unglazed faience, unglazed porcelain, unglazed earthenware pots, bricks, and tiles. One can do tayammum by rubbing one's hands on a wall of lime, soil, or stone. Among these mentioned substances, one chooses the easiest one for using.

Question: How many times can a person do tayammum with some soil?
ANSWER
Several people can do tayammum on the same soil because soil, sand, and the like do not become musta’mal (used) when they are used for tayammum. That is, that soil can be used for months for doing tayammum. The dust that falls from the hands and face after tayammum is considered musta’mal.

Question: What are the rulings of the other three madhhabs regarding tayammum?
ANSWER
Saying the Basmala is wajib according to the Hanbali Madhhab, and it is sunnat according to the other three madhhabs. According to the Hanafi Madhhab, tayammum can be done with any sort of earthen thing, such as sand, lime, plaster of Paris, marble, cement, unglazed faience, unglazed porcelain, earthenware pots, and bricks. One can do tayammum on a wall whitewashed with lime. One can also do tayammum on an item on which there is the dust of soil. According to the Shafi'i Madhhab, tayammum is done only with soil. According to the Hanbali Madhhab, tayammum is done only with soil too, but it must not be burnt or usurped and must be dusty. According to the Maliki Madhhab, it can be done even with sand, grass, tree, and snow.

According to the Hanafi Madhhab, one can perform any number of fara'id (obligatory salats) with a single tayammum. However, according to the other three madhhabs, tayammum cannot be done before the time for a fard salat comes, and one is not allowed to perform more than one fard salat with a single tayammum.

Question: How should a person who has wounds on his or her body take ghusl?
ANSWER
If there are wounds on more than half the surface of a person's body, such a person does tayammum for ghusl. If wounds cover a surface less than it and if it is possible to wash the body without wetting the wounds, he or she must take ghusl with water and wipe over the wounds. If it will be harmful to wipe over them, he or she must wipe over a piece of cloth put over them.

Question: If I, when making intention for tayammum, intend to do only tayammum, can I perform salat with it? If I do tayammum with the intention of handling the Mus-haf, is it permissible for me to offer salat with this tayammum? Lastly, is it necessary to intend for both doing tayammum and purifying oneself of janabat (major ritual impurity)?
ANSWER
When one restricts his intention to doing tayammum only, it is not permissible to perform salat with it. Similarly, when one does tayammum to handle the Mus-haf, one cannot offer salat with it. It is also necessary to intend to do something which is an act of worship, for example, to intend to do tayammum in order to perform Salat al-Janaza, to perform Sajda at-Tilawat, or to intend to do tayammum for wudu'. When intending for tayammum, it is not necessary to separate wudu' and ghusl from each other. By intending for wudu', one becomes purified from janabat, too. One can perform salat with the tayammum one has made in order to be purified from janabat. A second tayammum for wudu' is unnecessary. (Se'adet-i Ebediyye, Radd-ul-mukhtar)

According to Imam-i Zufar, intention is not an obligatory element of tayammum, like in wudu'. If one has done tayammum without making intention and performed salat with it, his salat becomes valid if one has in one's mind the thought that one's tayammum is valid according to Imam-i Zufar. But it is not permissible to act upon another ijtihad unless there is necessity.

Question: Is it permissible to do tayammum with dust that gathers on household items (a cushion, for example)?
ANSWER
It is not permissible. When the hands are put on things with which tayammum is not permissible, such as tissue, clothes, or cushions, if the hands become dusty with the fine dust particles (that comes) from earthen things with which tayammum is permissible, or with ashes, or if the dust (of soil) flies about in the air when an item is shaken out, tayammum can be done with them. The case is not so with dust particles resting on house furniture. Tayammum cannot be done with it. Tayammum can be performed with any sort of clean earthen thing even if there is no dust on it.

According to the Hanafi Madhhab, materials on which tayammum is permitted are as follows:
1. Earth and sand,
2. Lime and plaster of Paris,
3. Stone and washed and unglazed marble,
4. Cement, bricks, and tiles [also their dust],
5. Unglazed faience and unglazed porcelain earthenware pots,
6. Mud [If the water in mud is less than fifty percent, tayammum can be done with it. If the water is more than fifty percent, a piece of cloth should be soaked with it and then dried against the wind. Then tayammum can be done with the dusty cloth.],
7. Mud bricks, mud walls, or walls whitewashed with lime.

Materials on which tayammum is not permitted are as follows:
Things that burn and turn into ashes or that can be melted
by heat are not earthen.
1. Trees,
2. Grass and the leaves of fruit and vegetables,
3. Wood,
4. Something made of straw,
5. Metals, such as iron, brass, aluminum, copper, gold,
6. Nylon, plastic, and walls painted with oil based paint,
7. Glass.

According to the madhhabs of Shafi'i and Hanbali, tayammum is done only with earth and dusty sand. According to the Maliki Madhhab, it can be done with all types of earth, such as stones, sand, mud, lime, trees, and grass, as well as with metals except gold, silver, and precious stones, and it is not permissible to use a tile that has burnt.

According to the madhhabs of Shafi'i, Hanbali, and Maliki, tayammum is done after the time for a fard salat has come, and only one fard salat is offered with a single tayammum.

Question: How should a person living at a polar region perform wudu' as there is no water there? He cannot find soil to do tayammum, either. Everywhere is covered by ice and snow. How should he make ghusl?
ANSWER
Does he not live in a house? Why does a person performing salat not carry with him something on which tayammum is permitted, such as an earthenware pot, stone, marble, or brick? What job does he do on ice and snow? Does he not eat anything or drink water? How does he live at such a region? Please answer my questions first, and the answer to your question is easy.

Your question is similar to the ones asked by atheists because they asked many times how salat and fast are offered at polar regions.

Islam is a universal religion, which has commandments and prohibitions that suit every century, every region, and every climate. In Islam there is not anything for which there is no cure, except death. Our Master the Prophet stated, "The madhhabs are a mercy." When a person encounters a hardship in the offering of an act of worship, a way out can be found in one of the four madhhabs. If none of them shows a way out, then it is considered a darurat. Darurats makes forbidden things permissible. That is, delaying salat and wudu' in case of a darurat is not a sin.

According to the Maliki Madhhab, it is permissible to do tayammum with snow and ice. One can follow the Maliki Madhhab if need be. If the Maliki Madhhab had not shown a way out either and if it were not possible for one to do tayammum for any reason whatsoever, one would delay wudu' and ghusl until one gets water.

Question: Is it a condition that tayammum be done on soil? Is it impermissible to do it on anything else?
ANSWER
One can do tayammum with any sort of clean thing whose origin is from earth, such as sand, lime, and stone, so it can be done with a tile or unglazed marble, too.

Question: Is it permissible to do tayammum with ash?
ANSWER
No, it is not permissible. However, there is an exception made in the case of stone ash. Lime, for example, is the ash of stone. (Radd-ul-mukhtar)

Question: If a person who has done tayammum and started salat sees water during salat, what should he do?
ANSWER
When he sees water, his tayammum becomes invalid. He must say the salam immediately and break off salat. He must make wudu' with water before the time for that salat expires and repeat it. (Radd-ul-mukhtar)

Question: If, when I get up, there is a water outage and it is dark and cold outside, can I do tayammum?
ANSWER
No, you cannot. You should be prepared in advance for such unexpected situations. Being unable to find water in a city is not considered an excuse. You can ask a neighbor for a bucket of water.

Question: If one has a little water that is sufficient for wudu' only or for washing some parts of one's body, how should one take ghusl?
ANSWER
A junub person who does not have water sufficient for washing his entire body once does one tayammum for wudu' and ghusl. However, if his wudu' breaks after tayammum, he must make only wudu' with that water. (Se'adet-i Ebediyye)

Question: If one has little water that is not sufficient for wudu', how should one make wudu' then?
ANSWER
If one has little water that is not sufficient for washing one's parts even once, one should not wash any part, if one cannot find water anywhere. One must do tayammum. (Hindiyya)

Question: My 80-year-old grandmother has difficulty in making wudu' by herself and fears that, if she makes wudu', she may fall down and injure some part of her body. Can she do tayammum for wudu'?
ANSWER
She can do tayammum if it seems probable that she may fall. Similarly, if the use of water is likely to cause a disease when it is cold, even a healthy person is allowed to do tayammum instead of ghusl.

Question: If one does tayammum before the time for a fard salat comes, is one's tayammum valid?
ANSWER
Yes, it is valid according to the Hanafi Madhhab. According to the other three madhhabs, if one does tayammum before the time for a fard salat arrives, it becomes invalid when the time for that salat comes. One must make tayammum afresh when the time for the subsequent fard salat comes to be able to perform it. If a Hanafi person imitates the Maliki Madhhab or Shafi'i Madhhab in ghusl, wudu', and salat, he or she should bear this rule in mind.

Question: What are the differences between tayammum and wudu' in terms of performing salat?
ANSWER
Tayammum differs from wudu' in three respects:
1. If a Muslim, after making wudu', becomes an apostate (murtad) and then repents of it, he or she can offer salat with the wudu' he or she made before becoming an apostate. However, he or she cannot perform salat with the tayammum he or she did before his or her apostasy. The reason why this is so is that niyyah (intention) is not an obligatory element of wudu'. An apostate's making niyyah for tayammum is invalid (as niyyah is an obligatory element of tayammum).

2. If one makes wudu' in order to teach it to someone else, one can perform salat with that wudu' because niyyah is not an obligatory element of wudu'. However, if one does tayammum to teach it to someone else, one cannot offer salat with it because niyyah is an obligatory element of tayammum.

3. If a non-Muslim makes wudu' and then converts to Islam, he or she can perform salat with it. However, if he or she does tayammum and then converts to Islam, he or she cannot offer salat with it because the niyyah of a non-Muslim is not valid, like that of an apostate, nor is his or her tayammum. As for the niyyah in wudu', it is not an obligatory element of wudu'. (Nimat-i Islam)

Question: If one has done tayammum with the intention of offering Salat al-Janaza, is it permissible to offer a fard salat with it?
ANSWER
Yes, it is permissible. (Hindiyya)