Tayammum, Dry Ablution

Tayammum (التيمم) is a dry ablution using clean earth, performed in place of wudu or ghusl when water is unavailable or its use would cause harm.

Allah says:

When to use tayammum

You may perform tayammum if any of the following is true:

• No water is available, and you cannot reasonably reach water
• Using water would harm you, for example, you have a serious wound or illness and water would worsen it, or it is so cold that bathing could harm you and warming it isn’t possible
• The prayer time is about to end and you cannot reach water before it does

If you have a small amount of water, enough for some of wudu but not all, use it for what you can, then perform tayammum for the rest.

What you wipe with

Pure earth, clean dust, sand, or stone. This includes:

• Dust on the ground
• Dust on a wall, stone, or other clean surface
• Sand
• Pure rock or earth (some scholars allow even without visible dust on it)

How to perform tayammum

1. Intention (niyyah)

In your heart: I am about to perform tayammum for prayer. Do not speak it aloud.

2. Bismillah

Say quietly or in your heart:

3. Strike clean earth once with both hands

Place both palms flat on a clean dusty surface (the floor, a wall, sand, etc.). One strike is enough.

If your hands picked up a lot of dust, you may gently blow off the excess, the Prophet ﷺ did this (Bukhari).

4. Wipe your face once

Use both hands to wipe your entire face once, from the hairline to the chin, and from one ear to the other.

5. Wipe your hands once

Wipe the back of your right hand with your left palm, up to (and including) the wrist. Then wipe the back of your left hand with your right palm, up to the wrist.

That is the complete tayammum, face, then hands to the wrists. One strike of the earth, two wipes. Much shorter than wudu.

What tayammum allows

A single tayammum allows you to perform prayer, recite Qur’an, and touch the mushaf, anything wudu would normally allow.

The safer practice is to re-perform tayammum for each obligatory prayer when possible.

What invalidates tayammum

Everything that nullifies wudu also nullifies tayammum (see What breaks wudu).

In addition:

• Water becoming available, if you find water before you start the prayer, you must perform wudu instead. If water becomes available during a prayer, complete it; the prayer is still valid.
• The reason for tayammum being lifted, if you recover from the illness or harm, or get out of the situation that forced tayammum.