Tayammum is Allah’s mercy for when water cannot be used: “…and you find no water, then take clean earth and wipe your faces and your hands with it.” (Qurʾān 5:6). It stands in for both wudūʾ and ghusl until water is available.
When tayammum is allowed
- • No water is available, or not enough to purify with.
- • Illness or a wound that water would worsen or delay healing.
- • Water is dangerously cold and cannot be warmed, with real risk of harm.
- • The water on hand is needed for drinking (yours or others’, now or soon).
- • You cannot reach the water (e.g. a real barrier or danger).
How to perform tayammum
- 1
🧠Make the intention (niyya) to purify for worship.
- 2
🗣️Say “Bismillāh”.
- 3
🤲Strike clean earth/dust once with both palms.
- 4
😊Wipe your whole face with your palms.
- 5
💪Wipe the hands (schools differ: to the wrists or to the elbows — see Compare).
Obligatory acts (farḍ)
FarḍThe schools agree on the intention, wiping the face, and wiping the hands; they differ on the number of strikes and how far up the arms.
Agreed by all schools
- ✓Intention (niyya)
- ✓Wipe the whole face
- ✓Wipe the hands
Also obligatory in Hanafi
- ✓Wipe the arms to the elbows (two strikes)
What invalidates tayammum
Everything that breaks wudūʾ breaks tayammum — plus the return of the ability to use water.
Agreed by all schools
- ✕Anything that would break wudūʾ (see the Wudūʾ lesson)
- ✕Finding or becoming able to use water (for what tayammum replaced)
Also in Hanafi
The two agreed causes apply in every school.
Common mistakes
- ⚠ Using visibly impure (najis) earth or dust.
- ⚠ Making tayammum before genuinely checking for water when it may be near.
- ⚠ Assuming you must wipe to the elbows in every school — most require only to the wrists.
Evidence
فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ
“…and you find no water, then take clean earth and wipe your faces and hands with it.”
Qurʾān 5:6
The Prophet ﷺ showed ʿAmmār: “It was enough for you to do this” — striking the earth once, then wiping the face and hands.
Bukhārī 347 / Muslim 368 ṣaḥīḥ
Compare the schools
Tap a school to see its ruling first everywhere on this page.
Tayammum
How many strikes, and how far up the arms?
Hanafi: Two strikes: one to wipe the face, one to wipe the arms up to and including the elbows.
Other schools
Maliki: One strike is obligatory — wipe the face and the hands to the wrists; a second strike to wipe to the elbows is recommended.
Shāfiʿī: Two strikes: the face, then the arms to the elbows; keeping the order (tartīb) is obligatory.
Hanbali: One strike: wipe the face and the hands to the wrists.
Ḥadīth of ʿAmmār b. Yāsir (Bukhārī 347, Muslim 368) — “it was enough for you to strike once, wipe your face and hands.” al-Mawsūʿa al-Fiqhiyya.
Classical references
Hanafi: al-Hidāya · Radd al-Muḥtār
Maliki: al-Risāla · Mukhtaṣar Khalīl
Shāfiʿī: Minhāj al-Ṭālibīn · al-Umm
Hanbali: al-Mughnī · Zād al-Mustaqniʿ
Learn more
One tayammum, how many prayers? The Shāfiʿīs renew tayammum for each obligatory prayer; the other schools consider it valid, like wudūʾ, until something breaks it. A wound, cast, or bandage (jabīra): if you have wudūʾ but cannot wash a wounded limb, you may wipe over the dressing with water instead of removing it; where even that is impossible, tayammum covers that limb. If water is found mid-prayer, the majority say complete the prayer; some say restart with water — follow your school.
Related lessons
Content is being reviewed for authenticity by a qualified scholar. Follow your local scholars for personal rulings.