Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab
Sukainah, the daughter of Shaikh al-Albaani said, “I asked my father, may Allaah have mercy on him, ‘One of the female callers [daa’iyah] said in a fiqh lesson that the best gift that you can give to a sick person who cannot perform ablution is a bag of soil, or a container that has soil in it, so that (s)he can perform dry ablution [tayammum] from it. And likewise, a traveller should carry some soil with him in order to perform tayammum with it. What is your opinion?’
So he answered, ‘According to this school of thought when the Prophet عليه السلام travelled from Medinah to Tabuk he should have taken some soil with him so he could perform tayammun with it!
This is futile.
For there are two mistakes: the first is to limit the performance of tayammun to soil alone, for it is possible for a person to strike a wall once and the matter is over.
The second is that this is a new classification which has no basis. For it has not been reported that they would carry soil with them in their journeys.
This is a modern-day feigning of knowledge, due to the lack of striving and working hard to acquire it.’”
Taken from her blog.
baarakallaahu feekum
just wondering.. does the shaykh mean any wall? (even if there is no dust on it)?
That’s what I understood from it and Allaah knows best.
Allaahu akbar! Truly wonderful mashaAllaah and a blessing that u r bringing this knowledge to us. May Allaah aid us in learning and understanding Arabic Ameen.
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
I am little confused re: the sick person making tayammun, as mentioned in the question. My understanding was, tayammun was for when no water was available?
If for example someone has a bad back and can not bend to wash his feet, but has water available, can he make tayammun?
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a sick person who cannot find dust – can he do tayammum by striking his hands on the wall or the bed, and so on?
He replied: If the wall is built of something that comes from the earth, such as rocks or mud bricks, then it is permissible to use it for tayammum. But if the wall is covered with wood or paint, if there is any dust on it then it may be used for tayammum and there is nothing wrong with that. It is like doing tayammum on the ground, because dust particles come from the earth. But if there is no dust on it, then it is not from the earth and cannot be used for tayammum.
With regard to the bed we say, if there is dust on it, it may be used for tayammum, otherwise it should not be used for tayammum because it does not come from the earth.
End quote from Fataawa al-Tahaarah, p. 240.
http://islamqa.info/en/ref/36774
Jazakallahu khaira.
وَأَنْتُمْ فَجَزَاكُمُ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا