others, with nothing distinguishing the two cases except a valid excuse. Since this is so, and the conditions of prayer are waived when one is unable to fulfil them, there is all the more reason for the conditions of tawaf to be waived in such circumstances. A person may pray unclothed, or with ritual impurity and physical impurity, as in the case of a woman experiencing non-menstrual bleeding and others. A person may also pray with the major ritual impurity resulting from sexual activity or menstruation after performing dry ablution—or, according to the majority, even without dry ablution when neither water nor earth is available.

A menstruating woman, however, does not pray, because she has no need to pray during menstruation: the obligation is waived for her without any substitute being required. Prayer recurs day after day, so her prayers on the remaining days suffice without her having to make up those she missed. This is why she is commanded to make up missed fasts but not missed prayers. Fasting is prescribed for only one month each year; if she cannot fast in a state of ritual purity during Ramadan, she fasts outside Ramadan. Her obligation is thus not multiplied; rather, it is transferred from one time to another.

If, however, she were permanently unable to fast, like an elderly man or woman, or a sick person with no hope of recovery, the obligation would be waived for her. According to the majority, including Abū Hanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad, it is replaced by compensation consisting of feeding one needy person for each day. According to Mālik, it is waived without any substitute.

As for prayer, one cannot be incapable of all its essential elements; rather, one performs whatever one can of them. If a person were unable to make any outward movements with either his head or his body, the obligation of prayer would be waived according to one of the two scholarly views. This is the view of Abū Hanīfah and of Ahmad in one of