Tayammum: Difference between revisions

'''Tayammum''' (Arabic:{{iarabic|التیمم}}) is a ritual act which becomes [[obligatory]] instead of [[Wudu]] or [[Ghusl]]. Its steps are: hitting the palms of both hands on soil and rubbing them on the forehead and the back of the hands. The purity created by Tayammum is similar to that of Wudu and Ghusl and has no difference. Tayammum is also called Taharat Turabiyya ({{ia|الطهارة الترابية}}).

Two [[verses]] of the [[Qur'an]] and more than 220 [[hadiths]] discuss Tayammum and its conditions and rulings.

In jurisprudential terminology, the word "Tayammum"  refers to the act of touching the forehead and the back of the hands. If [[Wudu]] or [[Ghusl]] is not possible, Tayammum substitutes them. Tayammum is also called "Taharat Turabiyya" while Wudu and Ghusl are called "Taharat Ma'iyya" ({{ia|الطهارة المائية}}).

In two [[verses]], the [[Qur'an]] refers to Tayammum and its rulings: verse 43 of [[Qur'an 4]]{{enote|But if you are sick or on a journey, or any of you has come from the toilet, or you have touched women, and you cannot find water, then make your ablution on clean ground and wipe a part of your faces and your hands.}} and verse 6 of [[Qur'an 5]].{{enote|O you who have faith! When you stand up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe a part of your heads and your feet, up to the ankles. If you are junub, purify yourselves. But if you are sick, or on a journey, or any of you has come from the toilet, or you have touched women, and you cannot find water, then make tayammum with clean ground and wipe a part of your faces and your hands with it.}}

In ''[[Wasa'il al-Shi'a]]'' and ''[[Mustadrak al-wasa'il]]'', there are more than 220 [[hadiths]] about the manner and conditions of Tayammum.

One who cannot perform Wudu, needs to perform Tayammum instead of Wudu for doing things which require Wudu and one who cannot perform Ghusl, needs to perform Tayammum instead of Ghusl for doing things which require Ghusl. If Tayammum is done instead of [[Ghusl al-Janaba]] and then one of the things which cancels Wudu (such as urinating or sleeping) happens, (if the person is still in a condition which requires Ghusl), for doing things like prayer, he needs to perform Wudu if he can, otherwise he has to perform Tayammum instead of Wudu. There are different opinions regarding sufficiency of Tayammum instead of Ghusl of Janabat instead of Wudu or Tayammum instead of Wudu.

These two Tayammum are different and some jurisprudents believe that in Tayammum instead of Ghusl, one needs to hit the palms of his hands on soil twice, once at the beginning and once before rubbing the back of his hands.

# First the person needs to put the palms of hands on something which is alright for Tayammum having the intention of performing God's command (some marja's also require a small hit of hands, not just slowly putting the hands on the soil).

* In Tayammum, Muwalat is a condition; i.e. there should not be a long break between the steps.

* In Tayammum, the place to be touched should be still and the hands should move on it.  

* The organs involved in Tayammum should be ritually pure and there should be no obstacle on them. If it is not possible to remove an obstacle from the skin, Tayammum should be performed in [[Jabira]] form.

* Under normal conditions, one should not get help from someone else in performing Tayammum.

* It is necessary to remove the ring from the finger before Tayammum.

According to the verse 6 of [[Qur'an 5]], Tayammum need to be performed on "Sa'id" ({{ia|صَعید}}), but there are different opinions among lexicologists and thus among [[marja']]s whether "Sa'id" only refers to the soil or whatever grows out of the earth.

According to some [[fatwa]]s, Tayammum must be performed on soil as the first choice; however, if it was not available, it can be done on sand, gravel, clod, clay or stone (which has some dust on it).

There are different opinions about the permission of performing Tayammum on plaster, cement, brick, tile, etc.  

What is going to perform Tayammum on needs to be pure and not illegally obtained.

* Anything that nullifies Wudu can nullify Tayammum (which is performed as a substitute for Wudu) too and everything that nullifies Ghusl, can nullify Tayammum (which is performed as a substitute for Ghusl) too.

* If for the lack of time, one performs Tayammum instead of Ghusl (such as the moments before the [[call for prayer]] in the [[month of Ramadan]]), for doing other practices such as prayer, the person needs to perform Ghusl.

* If the cause for which one has performed Tayammum is no longer in place, there are different fatwas about repeating the practices one has performed while in Tayammum. For example, if in the afternoon, one thinks that one will not find water and performs one's prayer by doing Tayammum, but later one finds water, there are different fatwas about whether or not one has to repeat his prayer after performing Wudu or Ghusl.