Likewise, the jurists disagreed about the healthy person who fears the coldness of the water. The root of their dispute lies in whether he should be analogized to the sick person who fears using water. Those who allow tayammum for the sick bolstered their view with the ḥadīth of Jābir concerning the wounded man who performed a full wash and died as a result: the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—had permitted him to wipe (i.e., to perform tayammum) and said, “They killed him; may Allah kill them.” They also reinforced their analogy from the report that ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ became junub on a bitterly cold night, so he performed tayammum and recited, “Do not kill yourselves; indeed Allah is ever Merciful to you” (al-Nisāʾ 4:29). When this was mentioned to the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—he did not rebuke him.
Chapter Three
On Recognizing the Conditions for the Permissibility of This Purification
Three basic issues arise regarding its conditions:
- Is intention (niyyah) a requisite for this purification or not?
- Is searching for water a requisite for the permissibility of tayammum when water is lacking or not?
- Is the entry of the prayer time a requisite for the permissibility of tayammum or not?
As for the first issue: the majority hold that intention is required, because tayammum is an act of worship whose rationale is not fully accessible to reason. Zufar deviated, claiming that intention is not a condition and that tayammum needs no niyyah. The same has been reported from al-Awzāʿī and al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥayy, but the position is weak.
Regarding the second issue: Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—insisted on actively searching for water, as did al-Shāfiʿī, whereas Abū Ḥanīfah did not. Their disagreement turns on whether one who has not sought water may still be called “unable to find water,” or whether that description applies only to someone who searched and found none. The sound view is that anyone who is certain water is absent—whether through a prior search or by other means—is considered without water, whereas mere conjecture does not suffice. Consequently, the opinion within the madhhab that requires repeated searching in the very same spot is weak, while stipulating a search at the outset is strong whenever definite knowledge of the absence of water is lacking.
As for the third issue—making the entry of the prayer time a condition—some jurists required it; this is the school of al-Shāfiʿī and Mālik. Others did not; that is the position of Abū Ḥanīfah, the Ẓāhirīs, and Ibn Shaʿbān among Mālik’s associates.