The correct view, however, is that it does lift ritual impurity,1 because Allah says after mentioning dry ablution: “Allah does not intend to impose hardship upon you; rather, He intends to purify you” [al-Mā’idah 5:6]. Purification means that the state of ritual impurity has been lifted. The Prophet ﷺ also said: “The earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification.”2 Here, ṭahūr is pronounced with an a vowel, meaning that soil is a purifying agent. However, when water becomes available, or when the reason for which one performed dry ablution ceases—for example, when a wound heals—then one must perform ablution, or take a ritual bath if one had performed dry ablution in place of bathing for major ritual impurity.

No other substance removes an incidental impurity ............

His statement, “No other substance removes an incidental impurity,” means that nothing removes impurity except water. The evidence is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement concerning menstrual blood that gets on a garment: “Scrape it off, then rub it with water, then sprinkle it, and then pray in it.”3

The relevant point is his saying, “with water.” This indicates that water is specifically required for removing impurity.

The Prophet ﷺ also said concerning the Bedouin who urinated in the mosque: “Pour a bucketful of water over his urine.”4