was more merciful to me. So I performed ablution and prayed.’ The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘You did well. I would not wish you to have omitted anything you did. Had I been among the men, I would have done as you did.’”

Among those who held this view was Ahmad ibn Sālih, who said that ablution is superior to tayammum. This is not correct, however, because Allah—exalted is He—prescribed tayammum as a substitute for bathing to remove major ritual impurity, but did not prescribe ablution as a substitute for it. Ablution is therefore not superior to tayammum in this regard. It is superior to it only in the case of minor ritual impurity, for which tayammum was prescribed as a substitute for ablution.

As for the hadith, it is possible that what ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās did occurred before the revelation of the verse prescribing tayammum. At that time, the ruling for someone in a state of major ritual impurity who could find no water was to pray without bathing. Once the obligation to bathe was waived because he feared for his life, he came under the same ruling as someone free of major ritual impurity. He therefore performed ablution and prayed, just as someone who wakes from sleep without being in a state of major ritual impurity would do, and just as someone unable to find anything to cover himself prays naked. Before tayammum was prescribed, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—prayed in a state of minor ritual impurity without ablution, and, according to the report, the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—did not censure them for this. Our interpretation is thus sound. Allah—glorified and exalted is He—knows best.

Section

According to Mālik—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—all his companions, and the majority of scholars, tayammum removes neither major nor minor ritual impurity. This differs from the position of Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyab and Ibn Shihāb, who held that it removes minor but not major ritual impurity. It also differs from the position of Abū Salama ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān, who held that it removes both kinds: the major impurity requiring a ritual bath and the minor impurity that invalidates ablution.

The implication of this latter view is that someone who performs tayammum in place of ablution or to remove major ritual impurity remains ritually pure indefinitely. Neither bathing nor ablution becomes obligatory for him, even if he finds water, unless he incurs minor or major ritual impurity anew. A statement attributed to Ibn Mas‘ūd in al-Mudawwana appears to indicate that he held the same view. These words cannot, however, be taken at face value, for what is reliably reported from Ibn Mas‘ūd is what we related earlier: he held that someone in a state of major ritual impurity should never perform tayammum, but later changed his position to [the view that he should perform tayammum and then bathe upon finding water. As for the statement in al-Mudawwana