Authored by: Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amaanpuri (حفظه الله)
أَنَّهَا اسْتَعَارَتْ مِنْ أَسْمَاءَ قِلَادَةً فَهَلَكَتْ، فَبَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَجُلًا فَوَجَدَهَا، فَأَدْرَكَتْهُمُ الصَُلَاةُ وَلَيْسَ مَعَهُمْ مَّاءٌ، فَصَلَّوْا، فَشَكَوْا ذٰلِكَ إِلٰي رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ آيَةَ التَّيَمُّمِ .
“She borrowed a necklace from Asma which got lost. The Prophet ﷺ sent someone to search for it, and during this time, the time for prayer arrived but they had no water. So they prayed without Wudu, and later informed the Prophet ﷺ. Then Allah revealed the verse of Tayammum.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 336]
Before the revelation of the verse of Tayammum, the Companions prayed despite having neither water nor permission to use soil, which shows that they still considered prayer obligatory.
“Chapter: If a person finds neither water nor soil.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله (773–852 AH) commented:
“This hadith is evidence for the obligation of prayer for one who lacks both means of purification. The reasoning is that the Companions prayed believing it was obligatory, and had it not been, the Prophet ﷺ would have corrected them.”
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 1/440]
Even when both water and clean soil are unavailable, a Muslim must still perform the prayer on time, without Wudu or Tayammum, as per the understanding and practice of the Companions.
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on prayer if neither water for Wudu nor clean earth for Tayammum is available?❖ Answer:
If a person cannot find water for Wudu nor pure soil for Tayammum, he is still legally obliged to perform Salah. This is based on a narration from Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها, which states:أَنَّهَا اسْتَعَارَتْ مِنْ أَسْمَاءَ قِلَادَةً فَهَلَكَتْ، فَبَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَجُلًا فَوَجَدَهَا، فَأَدْرَكَتْهُمُ الصَُلَاةُ وَلَيْسَ مَعَهُمْ مَّاءٌ، فَصَلَّوْا، فَشَكَوْا ذٰلِكَ إِلٰي رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّي اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ آيَةَ التَّيَمُّمِ .
“She borrowed a necklace from Asma which got lost. The Prophet ﷺ sent someone to search for it, and during this time, the time for prayer arrived but they had no water. So they prayed without Wudu, and later informed the Prophet ﷺ. Then Allah revealed the verse of Tayammum.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 336]
Before the revelation of the verse of Tayammum, the Companions prayed despite having neither water nor permission to use soil, which shows that they still considered prayer obligatory.
❖ Imam al-Bukhārī رحمه الله deduced from this hadith:
بَابٌ إِذَا لَمْ يَجِدْ مَاءً وَلَا تُرَابًا .“Chapter: If a person finds neither water nor soil.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله (773–852 AH) commented:
“This hadith is evidence for the obligation of prayer for one who lacks both means of purification. The reasoning is that the Companions prayed believing it was obligatory, and had it not been, the Prophet ﷺ would have corrected them.”
[Fatḥ al-Bārī: 1/440]
Summary:
