and no tayammum is performed for them; but if most of his limbs are wounded, he confines himself to tayammum.

The hadith is evidence for those who hold that both must be combined.

His saying, exalted is He, “or you are travelling”: this means that if a person is on a journey, whether long or short, and cannot find water, he prays with tayammum and does not have to repeat the prayer. This is based on what is narrated from Abu Dharr, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Pure earth serves as the ablution of a Muslim, even if he does not find water for ten years. When he finds water, let him apply it to his skin.” (1)

However, if a person is neither ill nor travelling, but cannot find water in a place where water is not ordinarily unavailable—for example, in a village whose water supply has been cut off—then, according to al-Shafii, he prays with tayammum and later repeats the prayer when he is able to obtain water. According to Malik and al-Awzai, he does not have to repeat it; and according to Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy on him, he delays the prayer until he finds water. (2)

His saying, exalted is He, “or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself”: this refers to relieving oneself. The term al-gha'it originally denotes low-lying ground. Since it was the Arabs’ custom to go to such places to relieve themselves, relieving oneself came to be euphemistically referred to as al-gha'it. “Or you have touched women”: Hamzah and al-Kisai recited it here and in Surah al-Maidah as “lamastum” (“you touched”), while the remaining reciters read, “lamastum” (“you had physical contact with women”).

They differed regarding the meaning of touching and physical contact. Some held that it means sexual intercourse. This was the view of Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, Mujahid, and Qatadah. Touching is used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse, because intercourse cannot take place without touching. (3)

Others held that both terms mean skin-to-skin contact, whether through intercourse or otherwise. This was the view of Ibn Masud, Ibn Umar, al-Shabi, and al-Nakhai.

The jurists differed concerning the ruling of the verse. A group held that if any part of a man’s body comes into contact with any part of a woman’s body, with no barrier between them, both of their ablutions are invalidated. This was the view of Ibn Masud and Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, and it was also held by al-Zuhri, al-Awzai, and al-Shafii, may Allah have mercy on him.

Malik, al-Layth ibn Sad, Ahmad, and Ishaq said: If the touching is accompanied by desire, it invalidates ritual purity; whereas if it is not