عن عمَّارِ بنِ ياسرٍ رضي الله عنهما قال:بَعَثَنِي رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ فِي حَاجَةٍ فَأَجْنَبْتُ، فَلَمْ أَجِدِ الْمَاءَ، فَتَمَرَّغْتُ فِي الصَّعِيدِ كَمَا تَمَرَّغُ الدَّابَّةُ، ثُمَّ أَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ، فَذَكَرْتُ ذَلِكَ لَهُ، فَقَالَ: «إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَكْفِيكَ أَنْ تَقُولَ بِيَدَيْكَ هَكَذَا»، ثُمَّ ضَرَبَ بِيَدَيْهِ الْأَرْضَ ضَرْبَةً وَاحِدَةً، ثُمَّ مَسَحَ الشِّمَالَ عَلَى الْيَمِينِ، وَظَاهِرَ كَفَّيْهِ، وَوَجْهَهُ
‘Ammār ibn Yāsir narrated:
1. God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) sent me on an errand, and I happened to be in a state of ceremonial impurity, but could not find water. I soaked myself with dust just like animals do. When I later met the Prophet I mentioned this to him.
2. He said: ‘It would have been sufficient for you to do this with your hands’, and he then struck the earth with his hands once, and wiped his right hand with his left hand and wiped the back of his hands and face.
Tayammum, or dry ablution, is a concession God, Mighty and Exalted, has granted to His servants to make things easier for them. It replaces ablution when there is no water or water cannot be used.
The Prophet says:
‘God loves that His concessions be exercised just as He hates His commandments to be violated’[1].
Scholars define tayammum stating: ‘Using dust to wipe one’s face and hands with the intention of having permission to pray and do other things’. It is lawful, confirmed in the Qur’an, the Sunnah and by the unanimous view of scholars. It is a special privilege God has granted to the Muslim community. This hadith states how it is performed.
1. ‘Ammār mentions that the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent him on an errand. On his journey he had a wet dream and thus he was in a state of ceremonial impurity. He, therefore, rolled himself in dust which sticks to hands and body alike. Thus, the dust covered all his body. He did this so that he could pray, recite the Qur’an and perform other worship. When he returned, he told the Prophet (peace be upon him) so as to learn whether his action was right or not.
‘Ammār did this, thinking that the dust replaces water in removing a state of ceremonial impurity. When using water, this is done by washing one’s entire body. He, therefore, thought that in dry ablution, the dust should be applied to the whole body.
2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told ‘Ammār that striking his two hands on a dusty surface was sufficient. He should then wipe both his hands and face.
This is what the relevant Qur’anic verse tells us:
‘If you are in a state of ceremonial impurity, purify yourselves. But if you are ill, or on a journey, or if one of you has come from the toilet, or if you have been in intimate contact with women and can find no water, then have recourse to pure dust, passing therewith lightly over your faces and your hands. God does not want to impose any hardship on you, but He wants to purify you, and to bestow on you the full measure of His blessings, so that you may be grateful’.
(5: 6)
1. What ‘Ammār did shows that a Muslim who is unaware of the ruling concerning a matter he is facing, and does not know what scholars say about it, and has no access to anyone who can give him the Islamic ruling should try his best to determine what should be done. Then when he is able to ask about the ruling, he should do so in order to learn the proper answer to his question.
2. The hadith shows that if a person who is qualified to exercise scholarly reasoning, i.e. ijtihad, applies his view, which happens to be right in some way, does not need to repeat his duty if his view is not the right one. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not order ꜤAmmār to repeat his prayer although he was mistaken about the form of dry ablution. His action covered it, but in an incorrect way.
3. The hadith makes clear that the Islamic code is based on providing what is good and easy. It does not require what is very difficult for a person to do. In this case, it provides the concession of dry ablution and makes it easy, needing only for the person to wipe his hands and face.
