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Thursday, December 01, 2016

Conditions for at-Tayammum: Second Condition - Purity of the Earth (Part 13)

2-At-Tayammum must be preformed using earth which is clean and pure. 

Al-‘Uthaymeen explains that the earth must have three characteristics:

                -It is clean/pure.

-It can be used to clean and purify (see meaning of this below).

                -It is not impure.

These three characteristics are similar to what has been said about water: that pure water has three characteristics, if any of them change then the ruling of the water changes likewise – the smell of the water, its colour and taste.

All of this is based on the Aayah, - perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands” [al-Maa’idah 5:6]

A – The meaning of the condition that the earth must be something that is used to clean and purify is threefold:             

-That the earth hasn’t been effected by something impure, such as that piece of earth has been urinated upon.

-That the earth used to make at-Tayammum stays on the body and doesn’t fall off. If a person makes at-Tayammum and the earth used to make it falls off, then this nullifies this condition.       

-That the earth being used to make at-Tayammum hasn’t been used before to make at-Tayammum. For example, if a person makes at-Tayammum and then another person comes and takes the earth that is on the hands or the face of the person and makes at-Tayammum himself, then this is not permitted.

However this is different to using the same plot of land. So if a person makes at-Tayammum in a particular place but then another comes and makes at-Tayammum in that same place, then this is permitted.


Some of the scholars have said it is not because that piece of land has already been used, akin to the ruling of used water (الماء المستعمل).

4 comments:

  1. Assalamu alaykum,

    Kindly explain what it means that the "earth stays on the body and doesn't fall off." If one uses a rock, then there is nothing physically on the body. So how does this fit in with the above statement?

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    1. وعليكم السلام

      Thank you for your question.

      The Hanafis and Malikis stated that anything from the earth may be wiped over and performed at-Tayammum with, even if it doesn't stick to ones' hands/body.

      The Madhab of the Hanbalees and Shafi'ees state that the Tayammum must be something physical that sticks to the body. This was also adopted by many of the later Hanafis including the students of Abu Hanifah himself. This is also the opinion of Ibn al-'Uthaymeen and the correct opinion based on the understanding of the Ayah given above.

      Hope this helps.

      والله اعلم

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  2. Alhamdulillah, I was trying to understand about "something physically sticking to the body" and what would be not sticking to the body.

    Allah opened my mind in that I thought of grass. It is from the earth but doesn't stick to the body. So it could not be used. Alhamdulillah, all Guidance is from Allah.

    Umm Yousif

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