Tayammum (Dry Ablution)

In the verse known as the verse of ablution- 6th verse of Surah al-Mai'dah, Allah (swt) says “…But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.” As it can be seen, tayammum is a symbolic purification that is performed so that Muslims can perform their rituals immediately and without hardship and do not interrupt their prayers in cases where sufficient water is not available or cannot be used. 

Tayammum is defined as “performing masah (wiping) over the face and arms together with the elbows with the palm of the hand, which is touched on clean earth with the intention of ritual cleansing”. (Heyet, İlmihal, TDV, I, 209).  This exceptional and alternative worship has two fardhs: to intend, to wipe the face and the arms with the elbows. Tayammum can be performed on soil and similar types of clean materials like stone, pebbles and bricks. Prophet Muhammad (saw)  described tayammum with concise and precise words: one strike for the hands and one strike for the face, two strikes in total. (Musnad Ibn Hanbal, IV, 264; Sunan ad-Darimi, Taharah 65) Tayammum is nullified when any of the nullifiers for wudu or ghusl occurs, or when water becomes available again.

The person performing tayammum makes an intention and recites the basmala.  Then strikes the earth with his hands and moves them back and forth, ensuring dust to get in between the fingers. Then he raises his hands and shakes off the dust and wipes his face. Finally, after performing the second strike similar to the first one, he wipes his right arm with the palm of his left hand and then the left arm with the palm of his right hand, thereby finishing the tayammum ritual.