(43) “O you who believe, do not approach prayer while intoxicated until you know what you are saying, nor while in a state of major ritual impurity—unless merely passing through—until you have bathed. If you are ill or traveling, or one of you has relieved himself, or you have had contact with women and cannot find water, then seek clean earth and wipe your faces and hands. Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning, All-Forgiving.”
Allah, Most High, forbids His believing servants to approach prayer while intoxicated until they know what they are saying. This includes approaching places where prayer is performed, such as the mosque, for an intoxicated person must not be allowed to enter it. It also includes prayer itself, for an intoxicated person may neither pray nor perform any act of worship, since his reason is impaired and he does not know what he is saying. Allah, Most High, therefore set the limit of this prohibition at the point when the intoxicated person knows what he is saying.
This noble verse was abrogated when intoxicants were prohibited absolutely. Initially, intoxicants were not forbidden. Allah, Most High, then intimated to His servants that they would be prohibited when He said: “They ask you about intoxicants and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and some benefits for people, but their sin is greater than their benefit.’”
He then forbade them from consuming intoxicants when prayer was due, as in this verse. Thereafter, He prohibited them absolutely at all times when He said: “O you who believe, intoxicants, gambling, stone altars, and divining arrows are nothing but defilement from Satan’s handiwork, so avoid them”—to the end of the verse.
Even so, their prohibition is more emphatic when prayer is due because of the grave harm they entail: they prevent the attainment of prayer’s purpose, which is its spirit and essence—humble submission and the heart’s attentive presence. Intoxicants cloud the heart and hinder remembrance of Allah and prayer.
The meaning also indicates that one must not commence prayer when overcome by extreme drowsiness, such that one is unaware of what one is saying or doing. Indeed, it may further indicate that anyone intending to pray should remove every distraction that preoccupies his mind, such as resisting the urge to relieve himself, craving food, and similar matters, as stated in an authentic hadith.
He then says: “Nor while in a state of major ritual impurity—unless merely passing through.” That is, do not approach prayer when one of you is in a state of major ritual impurity, except when merely passing through the mosque without remaining there. “Until you have bathed”: once you have performed the ritual bath, the prohibition against approaching prayer ends. A person in a state of major ritual impurity may therefore only pass through the mosque.
“If you are ill or traveling, or one of you has relieved himself, or you have had contact with women and cannot find water, then perform tayammum.” ⦗180⦘
Thus, He permitted the sick person to perform tayammum whether water is available or not, the operative reason being an illness that makes using water difficult. Travel likewise commonly entails a lack of water. If a traveler cannot find water, or possesses only what he needs for drinking and similar necessities, he may perform tayammum.
Likewise, if a person enters a state of minor ritual impurity by urinating, defecating, or having contact with women, he may perform tayammum if he cannot find water, whether resident or traveling, as indicated by the verse’s general wording. In summary, Allah, Most High, has permitted tayammum in two situations:
The first is when water is unavailable, whether one is resident or traveling. The second is when using water would cause hardship because of illness or a similar reason.
The commentators differed regarding the meaning of His words, “or you have had contact with women.” Does this mean sexual intercourse, in which case the verse explicitly establishes the permissibility of tayammum for someone in a state of major ritual impurity, as is also established by numerous authentic hadiths? Or does it mean merely touching a woman with the hand, restricted to a touch likely to cause the discharge of pre-seminal fluid—namely, a lustful touch—in which case the verse would indicate that such contact invalidates ablution?
The jurists cited the words, “and cannot find water,” as evidence that one must search for water once the prayer time begins. They said that someone who has not searched cannot be described as having failed to find it; that can only be said after a search. They also inferred that water altered by contact with something pure may—and indeed must—be used for purification, since it falls within the words, “and cannot find water,” and this is still water. This was contested on the ground that such water is not water in the unrestricted sense, but that contention is open to question.
This noble verse establishes the legitimacy of this great ruling with which Allah has favored this nation: the prescription of tayammum. The scholars have reached consensus on this, praise be to Allah. Tayammum is performed with a clean substance from the earth’s surface, which includes everything lying upon the face of the earth, whether or not it bears dust. It is also possible that this is restricted to something bearing dust, for Allah says: “Wipe your faces and hands with some of it,” whereas something without dust cannot be used for wiping.
His words, “Wipe your faces and hands,” specify the areas to be wiped in tayammum: the entire face and the hands up to the wrists, as established by authentic hadiths. It is recommended to do this with a single strike, as indicated by the hadith of Ammār. It also establishes that the tayammum of a person in a state of major ritual impurity is the same as that of anyone else: the face and hands are wiped.
A useful point:
Know that the principles of medicine revolve around three foundations: maintaining health against harmful things, expelling them from the body, and guarding against them. Allah, Most High, has drawn attention to these in His Noble Book.
As for maintaining health and guarding against what causes harm, He commanded people to eat and drink without excess. He also permitted travelers and the sick to break their fast in order to preserve their health by using, in due measure, what benefits the body, and to protect the sick from what would harm them.
As for expelling harmful substances, Allah, Most High, permitted a pilgrim in a state of consecration who was suffering from an ailment of the scalp to shave his head, thereby removing the congested vapors within it. This draws attention to the evacuation of substances even more deserving of removal, such as urine, feces, vomit, semen, blood, and other substances. Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah, Most High, have mercy on him, pointed this out.
The verse also establishes that the entire face and hands must be wiped, that tayammum is permissible even before the prayer time becomes constrained, and that a person is not required to search for water until the cause giving rise to the obligation is present. Allah knows best.
He then concludes the verse with His words: “Indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning, All-Forgiving.” That is, He abundantly pardons and forgives His believing servants by making what He commands easy for them—extremely easy—so that obeying it does not cause them hardship or distress.
Among the manifestations of His pardon and forgiveness is that He showed mercy to this nation by prescribing purification with earth in place of water whenever water cannot be used. Another is that He opened the door of repentance and return to Him for sinners, invited them to enter it, and promised to forgive their sins. Yet another is that if a believer came to Him bearing sins that nearly filled the earth and then met Him without associating anything with Him, He would grant him forgiveness nearly filling it.