Jurisprudence

Fatwās of the Grand Ayatollah Khamenei (d.)

1- In tayammum four things are obligatory:
a) Intention, b) Striking the palms of both hands on something on which tayammum is correct, c) Passing the palms of both hands over the whole forehead, including both sides of the forehead, from the hairline to the eyebrows and the upper part of nose. And the two palms must, by obligatory caution, be passed over the eyebrows as well, d) passing the palm of the left hand over the whole back of the right hand and then passing the palm of the right hand over the whole back of the left hand.
N. B. There is no difference between tayammum instead of ghusl and tayammum instead of wuḍū’.

1- Question: How do we do tayammum? Is there any difference(s) between tayammum instead of wuḍū’ and tayammum instead of ghusl?
Answer: Tayammum is performed as follows:
Having intended, one strikes the palms of both hands on something on which tayammum is valid. After that the palms of both hands must be passed over the entire forehead and its both sides – from the hairline down to the eyebrows and the upper part of nose. Finally, the palm of the left hand must be passed over the entire back of the right hand and the palm of the right hand should be passed over the entire back of the left hand. One must, by obligatory caution, strike the earth once more with one’s palms of hands and then pass the palm of the left hand over the back of the right hand and vice versa. It makes no difference whether it is tayammum instead of wuḍū’ or tayammum instead of ghusl.

2- If soil, sand, clod and rock are not found, tayammum is to be done on the dust gathered on the clothes, carpet or the like. If the dust is not on the surface of the clothes or carpet it is incorrect to do tayammum with it unless one hits them first so that their surface become dusty and, then, do tayammum. If dust is not found, one has to do tayammum on mud. If it is not found either, one should, by mustaḥabb caution, pray without tayammum and later on, by caution, make it up in qaḍā’.

2-If the said things are not found, tayammum is to be done on the dust gathered on the clothes, carpet and the like. If dust is also not found while wet clay is found, tayammum should be done on it. In case none of them [i.e. things on which tayammum in correct] are available — like inside a plane or the like — one must, by caution, offer prayer on time without wuḍū’ and tayammum and later on do its qaḍā’ with wuḍū’ or tayammum.

3- Tayammum on gypsum, basalt or other sorts of stones is correct but tayammum on jewels like carnelian or turquoise is void. By obligatory caution, one should not do tayammum on baked lime/gypsum when soil or another thing on which tayammum is rendered correct is available.

3- Question: what is the ruling of doing tayammum on gypsum, limestone, baked gypsum or limestone, or on bricks?
Answer: Doing tayammum on anything which is considered as earth, such as gypsum or limestone is correct. Moreover, it is not remote that tayammum performed on baked gypsum/limestone or on bricks is valid (i.e. one can do tayammum on them).
Question: what is the ruling on doing prostration or tayammum on cement or concrete tiles?
Answer: Doing prostration or tayammum on any of them is not problematic, though there is caution not to do tayammum on them.

4- While doing tayammum, the forehead as well as the palms and the back of the hands must be pure. However, if the palm of the hand is najis and it cannot be washed, one has to do tayammum, although the palm is najis.

4- Question: You have mentioned that the thing upon which tayammum is done must be pure. Must the parts involved in tayammum i.e. the forehead and the back of the hands, be pure, too?
Answer: The forehead and the back of the hands should, by caution, be pure as far as possible and if it is impossible for one to purify the place of tayammum, one can do tayammum without purifying, though it is not remote that being pure is not necessary in general.

5- If one performs tayammum instead of ghusl and then something which renders wuḍū’ invalid happens, one must do wuḍū’ if one cannot do ghusl for ensuing prayers.If doing wuḍū’ is impossible, one must do tayammum instead of wuḍū’.

5- If a wuḍū’ invalidator, such as urination, occurs for someone who has already had tayammum instead of ghusl and who is still unable to do ghusl, to perform ensuing prayers he/she must, by obligatory caution, do both tayammum instead of ghusl once again and wuḍū’.

6- If one can neither do wuḍū’ nor tayammum for prayer, it is not obligatory for him to pray, but one can, by recommended caution, offer one’s prayer without wuḍū’ and tayammum and, by obligatory caution, do its qaḍā’ later on.

6- If one can neither do wuḍū’ nor tayammum for prayer, one should, by caution, offer the prayer in its prescribed time without wuḍū’ and tayammum and later offer a qaḍā’ prayer with wuḍū’ or tayammum.

7- If one does tayammum due to one’s certainty or fear of harmful effects of water but before offering prayer realizes that water is not harmful to him/her, one’s tayammum is void. However, if one realizes it after having performed prayer, his/her prayer is correct.

7- If one does tayammum imagining that water is harmful to him/her but before performing prayer realizes that he/she was wrong, one’s tayammum is void. If one – after having performed prayer – realizes that water was not harmful, one must, by obligatory caution, do wuḍū’ or ghusl and offer prayer again.