The proponents of legal reasoning permitted dry ablution using arsenic, gypsum, lime, and other substances from the layers of the earth. They even said: if someone were to strike his hands on a rock with no dust upon it, or on soil and then blow away all its dust, and then wipe his face and hands with them, his dry ablution would be valid. They said: clean earth means the surface of the earth, based on the report from Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification.” (1)

This is a general statement, whereas Hudhayfah’s hadith, which specifies soil, is explicit; and an explicit hadith takes precedence over a general one.

Some of them permitted dry ablution with everything connected to the earth, such as trees, plants, and the like. He said: clean earth is a name for whatever rises above the surface of the earth.

Deliberately seeking out soil is a condition for the validity of dry ablution, for Allah Most High says: “Then seek [clean earth].” Dry ablution linguistically means intending or seeking. Thus, if someone stood where the wind was blowing, dust fell upon his face, and he formed the intention, his dry ablution would not be valid.

Allah Most High says: “Then wipe your faces and hands. Indeed, Allah is Ever-Pardoning, Most Forgiving.” Know that wiping the face and hands is obligatory in dry ablution. The scholars differed concerning its manner. Most scholars held that one wipes the face and hands up to and including the elbows with two strikes: he strikes both palms upon the soil and wipes his entire face, though he is not required to make the soil reach beneath the hair; then he strikes a second time and wipes his hands up to and including the elbows. This is based on what Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad ibn al-Khatib reported to us: Abd al-Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Khallal reported to us; Abu al-Abbas al-Asamm reported to us; al-Rabi reported to us; al-Shafii reported to us; Ibrahim ibn Muhammad reported to us, from Abu al-Huwayrith, from al-Araj, from Abu al-Simmah, who said:

“I passed by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was relieving himself, and I greeted him, but he did not return my greeting. Then he went to a wall and scraped it with a stick he had with him. He then placed his hands upon the wall, wiped his face and forearms, and thereafter returned my greeting.” (2)

This indicates that the hands must be wiped up to and including the elbows, just as they must be washed up to and including the elbows in ablution. It also indicates that dry ablution is not valid unless dust from the soil adheres to the hand, since the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, scraped the wall with the stick. Had merely striking it been sufficient, he would not have needed to scrape it.

Al-Zuhri held that one should wipe the hands up to the shoulders, based on the report that Ammar said: “We performed dry ablution up to the shoulders.”

But this merely relates what he himself did; he did not attribute it to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. It is similarly reported that he said: “I was in a state of major ritual impurity, so I rolled myself in the dust.” When he asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, about it, he instructed him to wipe the face and palms.

A group held that dry ablution consists of a single strike for the face and palms. This was the view of Ali and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them.