and this was also the view of al-Sha‘bi, Ata ibn Abi Rabah, and Makhul. It was likewise adopted by al-Awza‘i, Ahmad, and Ishaq. They cited as evidence what Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi reported to us: Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Nu‘aymi reported to us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf reported to us; Muhammad ibn Isma‘il reported to us; Adam reported to us; Shu‘bah reported to us; al-Hakam reported to us, from Dharr, from Sa‘id ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abza, from his father, who said:

“A man came to Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, ‘I entered a state of major ritual impurity and could not find any water.’ Ammar ibn Yasir said to Umar ibn al-Khattab, ‘Do you not remember when you and I were travelling? You did not pray, whereas I rolled myself in the dust and prayed. I mentioned this to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said: “It would have been sufficient for you to do this.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then struck the ground with his palms, blew upon them, and wiped his face and palms with them.’” (1)

Muhammad ibn Isma‘il said: Muhammad ibn Kathir reported to us from Shu‘bah, through the same chain of transmission, that Ammar said to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him: “I rolled myself in the dust, then came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said: ‘The face and palms are sufficient for you.’” (2)

This hadith proves that a person in a state of major ritual impurity who cannot find water may pray using dry ablution. The same applies to a menstruating woman and a woman experiencing postnatal bleeding when they have become ritually pure but cannot find water.

Umar and Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with them, held that a person in a state of major ritual impurity does not pray 87/b using dry ablution; rather, he delays the prayer until he finds water and performs the ritual bath. They understood Allah Most High’s words, “or you have touched women,” as referring to touching with the hand rather than sexual intercourse. Yet Ammar’s hadith is proof to the contrary. Umar had forgotten what Ammar reminded him of and was not convinced by his statement. It is also reported that Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, retracted his view and permitted dry ablution for one in a state of major ritual impurity.

Further evidence for this is what Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad 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-Shafi‘i reported to us; Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ayyad ibn Mansur reported to us, from Abu Raja al-Ataridi, from Imran ibn Husayn, may Allah be pleased with him: the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed a man who was in a state of major ritual impurity to perform dry ablution and then pray; when he found water, he was to perform the ritual bath. (3)

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz reported to us: Abu al-Qasim ibn Ja‘far al-Hashimi reported to us; Abu Ali al-Lu’lu’i reported to us; Abu Dawud al-Sijistani reported to us; Musaddad reported to us; Khalid al-Wasiti reported to us, from Khalid al-Hadhdha’, from Abu Amr, from Bajdan, from Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: “A flock from the charity animals had gathered with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said, ‘O Abu Dharr, go out into the open country with it.’ So I went out to al-Rabadhah.”