Action is motion.
– “The backs of his palms”: the back of the palm is the side opposite its inner surface; the palm extends from the wrist to the fingertips.
– “He blew”: with his mouth he expelled air, intending thereby to remove the excess earth that had clung to his hands. Al-Jawharī says that what a person expels from his mouth comes in stages: first bazq (spittle), then tafl (a lighter spitting), then nafth (a spray without saliva), and finally nafkh (blowing).
Lessons drawn from the ḥadith
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The legitimacy of tayammum for the prayer and for every other act of worship that requires purification; tayammum is therefore one of the two prescribed means of purification.
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The method of tayammum: one strikes the ground with both hands once, then wipes the face with the inner sides of the palms and wipes the back of each hand with the other hand. The procedure is identical whether the impurity is minor or major.
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It is permissible to lessen the heavy dust that clings to the hands after striking the earth by blowing on them, then wiping the face and palms only, without extending the wiping to the forearms.
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A single strike suffices in tayammum for both the face and the hands.
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The permissibility of employing independent reasoning (ijtihād) in scholarly matters—even during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Among the experts of legal theory this is disputed; the soundest of the three opinions is that it is allowed when the Prophet is absent and one cannot ask him directly.
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The use of analogy (qiyās) is affirmed here, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) endorsed its practitioner. ʿAmmār drew an analogy between purification with earth and purification with water: just as water is applied to the whole body in the ritual bath for major impurity, earth by analogy should be applied to the whole body.
Ibn al-Mulaqqin relates from Taqī al-Dīn: the use of analogy must be preceded by knowing that tayammum itself is legislated, and it was as though ʿAmmār, when he observed that wuḍūʾ was confined to some