clear. As for continuity in the ritual bath, it has already been discussed. (1) If dry ablution is performed for a state of minor ritual impurity, then, according to the madhhab, both the prescribed order and continuity are required.

Thus, if the wound is on the hand, you must first wash your face, then perform dry ablution, then wipe your head, and then wash your feet.

In this case, you must have a cloth with you to dry your face and hand, because the earth used for dry ablution must have dust upon it. (2) If there is water on your face, the dry ablution is invalid.

Some scholars held that neither the prescribed order nor continuity is required, just as they are not required in the case of major ritual impurity. (3) According to this view, dry ablution may be performed before ablution, shortly afterward, or after a long interval. This is the practice of people today, and it is the correct view. It was chosen by al-Muwaffaq and al-Majd (713), as well as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, (4) and was deemed correct in Tashih al-Furuʿ. (5)

Benefit: Some scholars said that dry ablution is prescribed only for obligatory purification; as for recommended purification, it is not prescribed for it. (6) They supported this with textual evidence and rational reasoning.

As for the textual evidence, they said that Allah, Most High, mentioned dry ablution only in connection with obligatory purification