the admission fee if the water is offered at the usual price or at a surcharge of a kind people do not ordinarily accept in their dealings, provided he can afford it. If he needs that money for his own maintenance, that of his dependants, or repayment of a debt whose payment is being demanded, spending it on these necessities takes precedence over spending it on water. Likewise, if he needs the water for himself or his animals to drink, he should use it for that purpose and perform dry ablution. If the surcharge above the usual price does not substantially diminish his wealth, there are two views within the school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and among other scholars as to whether he must pay it. Most scholars hold that he is not obliged to do so. Allah, glorified be He, knows best.

He was asked:

A woman has intercourse with her husband but cannot enter the bathhouse because she lacks the admission fee or for some other reason. May she perform dry ablution? Is it disliked for her husband to have intercourse with her under these circumstances? Likewise, if the time for prayer begins when a woman has not yet performed the ritual bath, and she fears that entering the bathhouse will cause her to miss the prayer’s prescribed time, may she pray after performing dry ablution, or should she pray in the bathhouse?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. If someone in a state of major ritual impurity, whether a man or a woman,