How to do tayammum: steps and the four schools

What are the tayammum steps?

Ibn Qasim al-Ghazzi (Shafi'i), in Fath al-Qarib, defines tayammum as bringing pure dust to the face and hands in place of wudu or ghusl, under specified conditions 3. The works this page follows, one for each school with a commentary for the Maliki, share the order below. Under each step is where they differ. The steps assume the conditions in when it is allowed apply.

1. Make the intention. Al-Marghinani (Hanafi, al-Hidayah) calls it fard 4. Al-Abi al-Azhari (Maliki, al-Thamar al-Dani) places it at the first strike 6. Ibn Qasim al-Ghazzi (Fath al-Qarib) joins it to transferring the dust 7. Al-Buhuti (Hanbali, Kashshaf al-Qina') puts it first, then saying Bismillah 8.
2. Strike clean earth with both hands, and shake off the excess. Al-Marghinani says to shake the hands until the dust scatters 4. Ibn Abi Zayd (Maliki, al-Risalah) says to shake off lightly anything that clings 5. Al-Buhuti says to spread the fingers, and that a lot of dust may be blown off, while blowing off a little is disliked 8. What counts as clean earth differs: see earth, stone and walls.
3. Wipe the whole face. All four works describe the face before the hands. Fath al-Qarib makes that order required 7, and Kashshaf al-Qina' makes it fard for minor impurity (the state that wudu removes) 8.
4. Wipe the hands, to the wrists or the elbows (some works add a second strike first). Al-Marghinani and Ibn Qasim al-Ghazzi describe a second strike for the arms, to the elbows 47. Ibn Abi Zayd describes a second strike to the elbows; his commentator al-Abi al-Azhari counts the second strike and the elbows as sunnah and the wrists as fard 56. Al-Buhuti describes one strike and the hands to the wrists, wiped with the palms, and allows two strikes 8.

In the two hadith reports further down, the Prophet's demonstration is a strike of the earth and a wiping of the face and hands. Sahih Muslim 368a says one strike in so many words, and names the hands before the face.

How do the four schools differ on tayammum?

Each column follows the named work of one school. Fard and wajib are these works' words for what is required; sunnah acts complete it.

The Maliki column has two layers. Ibn Abi Zayd's al-Risalah describes the complete form, two strikes and the arms to the elbows, without labelling each act. The labels come from the later commentary al-Thamar al-Dani, which follows the Mukhtasar: wrists fard, elbows sunnah. It reports al-Basati's objection that the school's well-known position makes the elbows wajib, and rejects it 6.

When is tayammum allowed?

Two Quran passages name it. In this site's translation, both list illness and travel among the cases, add "and you do not find water", and then speak of rubbing the face and hands. Al-Ma'idah 5:6 reads "go to clean, high ground and rub your faces and your hands with some of it" Q.

The school works set out the conditions. Each row gives the main cases in that work's own words, not a ruling of ours; Kashshaf al-Qina' lists more, such as fear of thirst.

Can you do tayammum at home?

Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali) allows it for no water at home as well as travelling, and for severe cold even at home 11. Al-Risalah (Maliki) names an illness that prevents touching water, travelling or at home 5. Al-Hidayah (Hanafi) reports that Abu Hanifah allowed it in town for a person in janabah who fears the cold, while his two students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, did not 10.

What can you use for tayammum?

The works also differ on the surface. The table gives each work's words.

Can you do tayammum on a wall?

Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali) names a wall among the things whose pure dust counts, as long as the dust clings to the hand 9. None of the passages read in the other three works mentions a wall. A painted, papered or tiled wall may hold no dust or earth at all, so ask a scholar about the actual surface.

Can you use a tayammum stone?

If you mean a stone or clay block kept for tayammum, the works answer differently. Al-Hidayah lists stone for Abu Hanifah and Muhammad al-Shaybani, and al-Risalah lists stones 45. Fath al-Qarib requires dust 7, and Kashshaf al-Qina' says rock without dust is not wiped with 9.

What do the hadith reports show?

In Sahih al-Bukhari 338, graded sahih, a man told 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, that he was in janabah and had found no water. 'Ammar reminded 'Umar of a time they were travelling together: 'Umar did not pray, while 'Ammar rolled in the earth and prayed. When 'Ammar told the Prophet, he said this would have been enough, struck the earth with his palms, blew into them, and wiped his face and his hands with them.

1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 338

In Sahih Muslim 368a, also graded sahih, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, may Allah be pleased with him, quotes 'Ammar's account in a discussion with 'Abdullah, known as Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him. Here 'Ammar had rolled in the dust "as an animal rolls". The Prophet struck the ground with his hands once, then wiped the left over the right, the backs of his hands, and his face.

2AuthenticSahih Muslim 368a

In the same discussion, Ibn Mas'ud voiced a concern of his own: if a concession were given by the verse, people might use tayammum when water felt cold. That is his opinion in the exchange, not a saying of the Prophet. Neither report mentions the elbows; the school methods above are the jurists' accounts, not quotations of either report.

Does tayammum replace ghusl as well as wudu?

Sahih al-Bukhari 338 is itself about janabah, the state that calls for ghusl. Fath al-Qarib's definition names wudu and ghusl 3; al-Hidayah says minor impurity and janabah are the same in tayammum 4; Kashshaf al-Qina' drops the requirement of order and continuity when it is done for major impurity 8. For washing with water, see how to perform wudu and how to do ghusl.

What breaks tayammum, and what if you find water?

Each work gives its own list, and they differ on finding water during or after a prayer.

Whether a particular prayer needs repeating depends on the school and the case. Ask a scholar you trust rather than applying one row to every situation.