and it is invalidated only by what invalidates ablution or by becoming able to use water? This is the position of Abū Hanīfa and one of the views within the school of Ahmad and others. For the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Clean earth is a means of purification for a Muslim, even if he finds no water for ten years. But when you find water, let it touch your skin, for that is better.”

Al-Tirmidhī graded this hadith sound and authentic.

If someone has a ritual impurity on him and has nothing with which to remove it, he must pray within the appointed time with the impurity still on him, just as ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb prayed while his wound was bleeding, rather than delaying the prayer until its time had passed.

Concerning someone who can find only a ritually impure garment, some scholars say that he should pray unclothed; others say that he should pray in it and repeat the prayer; and still others say that he should pray in it without repeating the prayer. This last view is the most correct scholarly opinion. Allah has not commanded a person to perform an obligatory prayer twice unless, on the first occasion, he failed to fulfil a requirement that he was capable of fulfilling. For example, someone who prays without due composure must repeat the prayer, as related in the report:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed a man who had prayed without due composure to repeat the prayer. He said, ‘Go back and pray, for you have not prayed.’”

Likewise, someone who forgets to purify himself and prays without ablution must repeat the prayer, as related in the report:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, instructed a man who had performed ablution but left a patch on his foot untouched by water to repeat both his ablution and his prayer.”