The narrations from Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) on how to perform tayammum

Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On one of the journeys of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), a necklace of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) made of Zafar onyx beads was lost, and Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on that journey. Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) searched for her necklace until the night came to an end. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came and was angry with her, and said: You have held the people back in a place where there is no water. The narrator said: Then the verse of al-Sa'id (tayammum) was revealed. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said: By Allah, O my daughter! As far as I know, you are truly blessed. Ubaydullah said that Ammar used to narrate: On that day the people struck the ground with their palms and wiped their faces, then struck again and wiped their hands up to the shoulders and armpits, then they prayed.
(b) In another narration Ma'mar and Yunus also mention two strikes, just as Ibn Abi Dhi'b mentioned two strikes.

Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We wiped with earth (tayammum) in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); we wiped our faces and our hands up to the shoulders.
(b) Sufyan bin Uyaynah was in doubt about mentioning his father in its chain; sometimes he narrates it as "from Ibn Dinar, from al-Zuhri," and sometimes only from "al-Zuhri".

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) halted for the night at Ulat al-Jaysh, and his wife Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was with him (peace and blessings be upon him). Her necklace made of Zafar onyx beads was lost.
The people were held back to search for it until dawn broke, and the people had no water with them. Allah Almighty revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) the concession of purification with clean earth. The Companions stood up with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and struck the ground with their hands, then raised their hands without taking up any of the dust, and wiped their faces and their hands up to the shoulders, and the insides of their hands up to the armpits. Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The people did not rely on this. And it reached us that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): "By Allah! I did not know that you were (a source of) blessing."
(b) Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the wiping up to the shoulders which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered is abrogated. Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) said that this was the very first tayammum, when the verse of tayammum was revealed. All the tayammums of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after it differ from it, and they abrogate it.
(c) Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) also said that it is narrated from Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to perform tayammum on the face and the palms.

Sa'id bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abza narrates from his father that a man came to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: If I become junub and do not find water, what should I do? Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): Do you not remember that we were on a journey, and you and I became junub? You did not pray, while I rolled about in the dust and then prayed. I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and told the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It would have sufficed you to do like this." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck the ground with his palms, blew into them, and then wiped his face and his palms.

Al-Hakam said: In Khurasan I heard the son of Abd al-Rahman bin Abza (may Allah have mercy on him) narrate that a man came to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "If I become junub and do not find water, what should I do?" Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Do you not remember that we were on a military expedition in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? You and I became junub; you did not pray, while I rolled about in the dust and then prayed. I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'It would have sufficed you to do like this.' Then he struck the ground with his hands, then blew into them and wiped his face and his palms, but did not go beyond the wrists."
(b) Salamah bin Kuhayl narrated it from Dharr bin Abdullah al-Murhibi, but he was in doubt about its text and was inconsistent in it.

Ibn Abd al-Rahman bin Abza narrates from his father that a man came to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: I became junub on a journey and did not find water. Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Do not pray. Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Commander of the Believers! Do you not remember when you and I were on a military expedition, and we became junub and did not find water? You did not pray, while I rolled about in the dust. We came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ammar! It would have sufficed you to do like this," and he struck the ground with his hands, then blew into them and wiped his face and his hands. Salamah said: I do not know whether he (peace and blessings be upon him) went up to the full forearms or not. The narrator said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Fear Allah! Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Commander of the Believers! Allah has given you a right over me; do you wish that I should not narrate this hadith? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: No, rather we leave to you the responsibility for what you have taken upon yourself.

Ibn Abd al-Rahman bin Abza (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned it. (b) Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) did not remember whether he mentioned up to the palms or up to the elbows. (c) Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) reported from Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) concerning this narration that he said: I do not know whether it mentions the elbows or the palms.

Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this hadith with the same chain; he said: Then he blew into them and wiped his face and his palms up to the elbows or the forearms. Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Salamah (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say: the palms, the face and the forearms (are included in the wiping). One day Mansur (may Allah have mercy on him) said to him: "Look at what you are saying! No one but you mentions the forearms."

Abd al-Rahman bin Abza (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and he mentioned the hadith. Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this to him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It would have sufficed you to do like this," and he struck the ground with his hands, then blew, and wiped his face and his hands up to the middle of the forearms.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him): I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about tayammum, and he ordered "wiping the face and the palms with a single strike." (b) Qatadah used to give fatwas according to it. Aban's narration differs over mentioning the narrator Azrah in its chain.
(c) Aban narrates from Qatadah through another chain that the wiping is up to the elbows.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(Wipe) up to the elbows."

(a) Aban said that Qatadah was asked about tayammum on a journey, and he said: Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "Up to the elbows," and al-Hasan and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i also used to say the same, that is, "Up to the elbows."
(b) It is narrated from Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Up to the elbows." (c) Abu Ishaq said: I mentioned this to Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him), and he said: How excellent (a way)!
The Shaykh said: This disagreement is in the hadith of Ibn Abza from Ammar, and most of it comes from Salamah bin Kuhayl, to whom doubt occurred. Al-Hakam bin Utaybah is a jurist and a hafiz; he narrated it from Dharr bin Abdullah, from Sa'id bin Abd al-Rahman, then he heard it from Sa'id bin Abd al-Rahman himself and narrated the hadith without any doubt. Qatadah's narration from Azrah agrees with it. But the hadith that Qatadah narrates from an unnamed narrator from al-Sha'bi is munqati' (broken). Thus this hadith is also established through another chain, about the authenticity of which there is no doubt.

Shaqiq said: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Abdullah and Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with them both). Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Abu Abd al-Rahman! If a man becomes junub and does not find water, should he pray? He said: No. He said: Have you not heard what Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me and you, and I became junub and rolled about in the dust. Then we came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It would have sufficed you to do just this," and he wiped his face and his palms once. He said: I did not see Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) being satisfied with what he said. I said: How do you act upon the verse: "Then perform tayammum with clean earth" [Surah al-Nisa: 43]? He said: If we were to grant them a concession in this, then whenever one of them found the water cold, he would wipe with earth. Al-A'mash said: I said to Shaqiq: So he disliked it only for this reason?

Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning the hadith of Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him): If Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned that their tayammum up to the shoulders in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when the verse was revealed, was by the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then it can only be that it is abrogated, since it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "ordered tayammum of the face and the palms"; or else he narrated only one tayammum from him (peace and blessings be upon him).
(b) and his narration from him differed, so the narration of Ibn al-Simmah, which does not differ, is more established. Since it does not differ, it is more fitting to act upon it, because it agrees more with the Book of Allah than the two narrations that have been reported differently. Or else they heard the verse of tayammum when a prayer was due, so they performed tayammum and took precaution, going to the furthest extent to which the name "hand" applies, because that would not harm them, just as it would not harm them in ablution. When they came to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) informed them that less than what they had done would suffice them for tayammum. In my view this is the most fitting meaning of Ibn Shihab's narration of the hadith of Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him), for the indications I have described.
(c) Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: What prevented us from taking the narration of Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) in which tayammum of the face and the palms is mentioned is the established report from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he "wiped his face and his forearms", and that this is closer to the Qur'an and to analogy, since the substitute for a thing is like it.
(d) Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated the hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that "one strike is for the face and another strike is for the hands up to the elbows".
(e) Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I have seen our companions act upon this. Something has been narrated about it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); if I knew it to be established, I would not go beyond it nor have any doubt about it. Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that we wiped up to the shoulders in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is narrated from him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that "wiping is of the face and the palms".
(f) It is as though his saying, "We performed tayammum up to the shoulders in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)," was not by his (peace and blessings be upon him) command. If the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioning wiping of the face and the palms is established from Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him), and the narration up to the elbows is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then acting on what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is more fitting, and Sa'd bin Salim used to give fatwas according to this. It seems that in his early view he doubted whether both hadiths were established, for the reasons we have mentioned about each of them. The wiping of the face and the palms in the hadith of Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) is established, and it is more established than the narration of wiping the forearms, although the narration of the forearms is also good because of the corroborating reports we have mentioned, and it concerns another incident. If the narration of Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) is about the beginning of tayammum, when the verse was revealed and they came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he (peace and blessings be upon him) told them that less than what they had done would suffice them for tayammum, then the narration of wiping the forearms came after it and is more worthy of being followed; it is closer to the Book and to analogy, and it is the practice of Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), authentically reported from him. Wiping of the face and the palms has been narrated from Sayyiduna Ali and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), and the opposite has also been narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

Yazid bin Abi Habib (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ali and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to say concerning tayammum that it includes the face and the palms.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): There are two strikes: one strike for the face and one strike for the forearms. Both of these (reports) from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) are munqati' (broken). (b) Khalid narrates from Abu Ishaq that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said concerning tayammum: One strike for the face and one strike for the palms.