The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No.642- If a person does not have earth or its likes; it is obligatory, if possible, to buy it.

Issue No.643- Performing tayammum on an earthen wall is valid and the recommended precaution is that if dry earth or soil is available, tayammum should not be performed on moist earth or soil.

Issue No.644- The thing used for tayammum should not be usurped, as an obligatory precaution. But if he does not know or has forgotten that it is usurped his tayammum is valid unless he himself has usurped it.

Issue No.645- If a person is imprisoned in a usurped place, he can perform tayammum on its earth or stone and offer his prayers.

Issue No.647- It is better to avoid performing tayammum on filthy earth, deep earth and roadsides, or the saline earth on which a layer of salt has not settled over. If, however, a layer of salt has covered the earth, tayammum on it is void. If the earth is so filthy that one fears that he would become sick by performing tayammum on it, one should, as an obligatory precaution, offer prayer without tayammum and offer the qaḍā later.

Issue No.648- Tayammum must be performed in the following order: (i) Intention (ii) striking both of the entire palms together on the object on which tayammum is valid. (iii) Wiping with the palms of both the hands the entire forehead and its two sides [as an obligatory precaution] commencing from the hair line to the eyebrows and above the nose and the obligatory precaution is to wipe the eyebrows as well. (iv) To pass the left palm over the whole back of the right hand and thereafter to pass the right palm over the whole back of the left hand.

Issue No.649- Tayammum, whether it is a substitute for wuḍū or ghusl is the same. However, the recommended precaution is that if tayammum is substituting for ghusl, one should [after wiping the face and hands] strike the palms on the earth and wipe the right and then the left hand once again.

Issue No.650- The forehead and backs of the hands should be wiped entirely; if a person leaves out a small part of his forehead or the backs of his hands in tayammum, intentionally or forgetfully, his tayammum will be void. However, it is not necessary to be very particular about it; if it can be said that the forehead and the backs of the hands have been wiped, it will be sufficient.

Issue No.651- In order to be sure that the forehead and the backs of the hands have been wiped entirely, one should include the surroundings of these parts slightly, but wiping between the fingers is not necessary. As an obligatory precaution, the forehead and the backs of the hands should be wiped from top to bottom, and the parts of tayammum should be performed consecutively, thus if a person leaves such a gap between them that tayammum loses its form, his tayammum is void.

Issue No.652- It is not necessary to determine whether the tayammum is substituting for ghusl or wuḍū and all that is necessary is that one has the intention of complying to God’s order. Even if he makes the intention of one instead of the other mistakenly it is still correct, if his intention is to fulfill his actual religious obligation.

Issue No.653- As an obligatory precaution, the forehead, the palms and the backs of the hands should be ṭāhir, however, if the palms of the hands are najis and one cannot make them ṭāhir, he should perform tayammum in that very condition.

Issue No.654- While performing tayammum, one should remove any impediment which may be on the parts of tayammum and if there is a ring on the finger, it should be taken off. Also, if the hair of the head comes on the forehead, it should be pushed aside, and if an impediment is very likely to be there, he should investigate.