MINARA
How to Perform Tayammum
Tayammum takes the place of wudu and ghusl when no water is available or it cannot be used. Without that necessity it is not valid: the conditions, the material and the three steps.
First the condition: when is tayammum valid?
Tayammum is a concession (rukhsa) tied to necessity: an ease granted by God, but one with a condition. If water is present and usable, tayammum is not valid. One of the following must apply.
- Condition 1No water availableNo usable water within roughly one mile (two kilometres) of where you are
- Condition 2Water cannot be usedIllness, a wound, severe cold — the risk that water would cause harm
- Condition 3Reaching the water is dangerousA real danger to life or property
- Condition 4The water is needed to stay aliveThe drinking water might run out
Step by step
Tayammum is performed in three steps, and performing all three is fard. There is no repetition: each step is done once. Hanafi sources also count the same acts as two fard elements — intention and the two strikes with the wiping; the acts are identical, only the way of counting differs.
Intention (niyyah)
One intends in the heart to perform tayammum in place of wudu or ghusl. In tayammum the intention is fard in all four schools — this is the first point where it differs from wudu.
First strike → wiping the face
Both hands are placed on the earth, excess dust is shaken off, and the whole face is wiped with the hands.
The fard boundaryThe same facial boundary as in wudu: from the hairline to below the chin, from one earlobe to the other. No spot may stay dry.
Second strike → wiping the arms
The hands are placed on the earth again; the right arm is wiped with the left hand and the left arm with the right hand.
The fard boundaryFrom the fingertips past the elbow — the elbows are inside the wiped area. (Maliki and Hanbali: to the wrists — see below.)
A ring is taken off or moved. The tayammum is complete here.
What may it be performed with?
Lack of time alone is not a reason for tayammum; if water is available, wudu is performed. Whether a genuine necessity exists is a legal judgement.
Tayammum is performed with a clean substance of the kind of earth: soil, sand, stone, lime, brick, a mud-plastered wall. Surfaces that are not of the kind of earth (metal, glass, plastic, wood) do not qualify. Dust on the surface is not required in the Hanafi school; in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools the hand must touch dust.
Differences between the schools
In tayammum the differences gather around three points: what it may be performed with, how many strikes are required, and how many prayers may be performed with one tayammum.
What may tayammum be performed with?
- Hanafi · Maliki
- Anything of the kind of the earth's surface: soil, sand, stone, lime, brick. Dust on the surface is not required.
- Shafi'i · Hanbali
- Only earth (turâb) that leaves dust on the hand. Stone and lime do not qualify.
How many strikes, and how far is the wiping?
- Hanafi · Shafi'i
- Two strikes are fard; the arms are wiped including the elbows.
- Maliki · Hanbali
- One strike is fard and the second is sunnah; what is fard is wiping the face and the hands up to the wrists.
How many prayers may be performed with one tayammum?
- Hanafi
- As long as the tayammum is not broken, more than one obligatory prayer.
- Shafi'i · Maliki
- A new tayammum is performed for each obligatory prayer; voluntary prayers may be performed with the same tayammum.
- Hanbali
- The tayammum ends when the prayer time expires; it is performed again in the new time.
Is the intention fard in tayammum?
- All four schools
- Fard. The intention, which is sunnah in wudu according to the Hanafi school, becomes obligatory in tayammum.
Frequently asked questions
How many steps does tayammum have?
Three: the intention, wiping the face after the first strike, and wiping the arms after the second strike. Performing all three is fard and each is done once. Hanafi sources also count them as two fard elements — the intention and the two strikes with the wiping; the acts are identical.
How many times is the earth touched in tayammum?
Twice in the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools: once for the face, once for the arms. In the Maliki and Hanbali schools one strike is sufficient; the second is sunnah.
Does tayammum replace both wudu and ghusl?
Yes; depending on the intention it takes the place of both, and the steps are the same.
Can tayammum be performed on a wall or a stone?
A mud-plastered wall and stone are valid in the Hanafi and Maliki schools; in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools only earth that leaves dust on the hand is accepted.
What happens when water becomes available?
The tayammum ends and wudu or ghusl is performed. Prayers already performed with tayammum do not have to be repeated.
When is tayammum broken?
Everything that breaks wudu breaks tayammum as well. Beyond that there is only one case specific to tayammum: water becoming available or usable.
Related pages
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Note
Source: Presidency of Religious Affairs of Türkiye (Diyanet), Ilmihal I — Faith and Worship, chapter “Tayammum”.
This page is not a fatwa. Whether a genuine necessity exists is a legal judgement. For a question about your own situation, consult a mosque community or a qualified person.