As for the ḥadīth of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, it states:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw a man standing apart who had not prayed with the congregation. He asked him, ‘So-and-so, what kept you from praying with the people?’ The man replied, ‘Messenger of Allah, I had become junub and had no water.’ The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘Use clean earth, for it is sufficient for you.’”
Because of the possible implications of this report, the jurists disagreed: may a person who lacks water—and whose state therefore allows tayammum—have marital relations with his wife, or may he not? (This question applies to those who permit tayammum for one in a state of major impurity.)
Chapter Two
Identifying Those for Whom This Purification Is Permissible
With regard to the people for whom tayammum is allowed, the scholars unanimously agree that it is permissible in two cases: for the sick person and for the traveler, provided that both are unable to find water.
They differ, however, over four other situations:
- a sick person who has water but fears using it;
- a resident who cannot find water;
- a healthy traveler who can see water but is prevented from reaching it by fear; and
- one who refrains from using water because of severe cold.
For the sick person who has water yet fears using it, the majority rule that tayammum is permissible. The same applies, they say, to a healthy person who fears death or serious illness from cold water, and to someone who is afraid to go out to the water; most of them nonetheless require him to repeat the prayer once water becomes available.
ʿAṭāʾ, however, held that neither the sick nor anyone else may perform tayammum if water is present.
Concerning a healthy resident who lacks water, Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī allow him to perform tayammum, whereas Abū Ḥanīfah does not, even when water cannot be found.
The roots of their disagreement in these four foundational issues are as follows. Regarding the sick person who fears using water, the point of contention is whether the Qur’anic words, “If you are ill or on a journey” (al-Nisāʾ 4:43), contain an implied qualification. Those who posit an ellipsis—understanding the verse to mean, “If you are ill and unable to use water,” and taking the pronoun in “and you find no water” (4:43) to refer solely to the traveler—permit tayammum for the sick person who fears using water. Those who hold that the pronoun refers to both the sick and the traveler alike, and that no ellipsis is intended, do not permit the sick person to resort to tayammum when water is available.
Their disagreement over the resident who lacks water turns on whether the pronoun in the phrase “and you find no water” can refer to all categories of people who have broken their state of purity—both residents and travelers—or only to travelers. Those who understand it as all-inclusive allow tayammum for residents; those who restrict it to travelers, or to the sick and travelers, do not allow a resident who lacks water to perform tayammum.
As for the debate over the one who is afraid to go out to the water, it rests on whether he should be analogized to someone who is entirely without water.