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If I am going to go for ‘umrah in Ramadan by bus, with an organised group, and I am menstruating, and my period ends when I am on the road, is it permissible for me to do tayammum for prayer until I reach the miqaat?
Because it is difficult to do ghusl in the washrooms on the road, because they are not sanitary and do not have any hot water, and I cannot hold up the group, because it is so crowded at the washrooms.
If it is permissible to do tayammum, can I pray with tayammum or should I do wudoo’ too? Should I do tayammum for every prayer or in the case of minor impurity?
When I reach Makkah, is it permissible for me to pray Taraweeh before doing ‘umrah, and to delay ‘umrah until there is less crowding?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
If a menstruating woman’s period ends (and she becomes pure) when she is on the road, and there is still lots of time left for the prayer, such as if her period ends before Zuhr, or after it, then she may put Zuhr and ‘Asr together at the time of the later prayer, and pray them at the time of ‘Asr, and she may delay her ghusl until that time. Similarly, if her period ends after Maghrib, then she may pray Maghrib and ‘Isha’ (together) at the time of ‘Isha’, and delay her ghusl until the time of the prayer.
But if it is not possible to delay the prayer, such as if her period ends shortly before Fajr or afterwards, or before sunset, then in that case she must do ghusl so that she can pray.
If she cannot find water, or she can find it but is afraid to use it, because it is very cold and she has no means of heating it, or she is afraid that her travelling companions will move on, it is permissible for her to do tayammum.
It says inMataalib Ooli an-Nuha(1/194), concerning the excuses that make it permissible to do tayammum:
Or he is afraid – if he uses the water – of some physical harm such as an injury, or because it is very cold and he cannot find anything with which to heat the water, or he is afraid that if he uses it his travelling companions will move on. It says inal-Furoo‘: The apparent meaning is that if he is not afraid of harm resulting from his travelling companions moving on, because he will miss out on their company. End quote.
But in the case of a slight delay which will not adversely affect the group, then this does not matter and is not an excuse for not doing ghusl. You have to fear Allah, may He be exalted, and understand that the basic principle is that you should use water, and that tayammum is only permissible when there is an excuse, so you should not be too careless about that.
In the event that the concession of tayammum is valid in your case, then if you do tayammum with the intention of purifying yourself from both menses and minor impurity, you do not need to do wudoo’ after tayammum. But if you do tayammum to purify yourself from menses only, then you must do wudoo’ after that, and that is preferable, in sha Allah, because water is available and you will not be harmed by doing wudoo’ with it.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
If a person falls asleep in Mina and needs water for ghusl, but because of the high numbers of pilgrims there is little water, what should he do instead of using water? What if he wants to pray when he is junub? Is it acceptable for him to purify himself with dust? I hope that you can explain this matter, because many people are faced with such issues.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) replied:
If a person has a wet dream in Muzdalifah or any place where there are a lot of people, he should look for water, even if he has to pay for it, from any place he can, on the edges of Mina in any direction, or if he finds a place where he can do ghusl for free, then he must do that.
But if that is not possible, whether in return for payment or for free, and he cannot find any place to do ghusl, then he must do tayammum with dust and pray. He should strike the dust with his hands and wipe his face and hands with the intention of purifying himself from janaabah and from minor impurity. In other words, he should intend the tayammum to purify himself from both, the minor impurity which necessitated wudoo’ and the major impurity which necessitated ghusl from janaabah. He should intend both, and that will suffice, then he may pray, and his prayer is valid, praise be to Allah. Fear Allah as much as you can, for Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):“and you find no water, perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands (Tayammum)” [an- Nisa’4:43]. But he has to try hard and not be careless; he has to try hard and ask. If he finds water, even if he has to pay for it and collect it in a bucket and the like, he should do that, then move away from people, and look for a tent, if there is a tent in which there is no one, or a place where no one can see him, and do ghusl.
End quote fromFataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darbby Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him), (5/276).
Secondly:
With regard to your question about tayammum and whether it is to be done for every prayer or, if it is done to remove minor impurity once, that is sufficient. The scholars differed concerning that as there are two views:
The first view is that it is not required for every prayer, because tayammum – like wudoo’ – removes impurity, so it is not invalidated by the ending of the time for the prayer; rather it is invalidated by the things that are well-known to invalidate wudoo’.
This is the view of the Hanafis and is the view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him). It was regarded as more correct by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) – ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (1/314)
They quoted several things as evidence, including the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If you are in a state of Janaba (i.e. had a sexual discharge), purify yourself (bathe your whole body). But if you are ill or on a journey or any of you comes from answering the call of nature, or you have been in contact with women (i.e. sexual intercourse) and you find no water, then perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands. Allah does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you”
[al-Maa’idah 5:6].
And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The earth has been made a place of prostration and a means of purification for me.” (Agreed upon). Tayammum has been ordained as a means of purification, so how can it be said that it does not purify or that it does not remove impurity? Rather it is only a means to make it permissible to pray.
The second scholarly view is:
That tayammum makes it permissible to pray and so on, but it does not remove impurity. This is the view of the majority of Maalikis, Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis. Based on that, tayammum should be done after the time for the prayer begins, and it becomes invalid when the time for the prayer ends. So if a person does tayammum for Zuhr prayer, he may offer that prayer and whatever he wants of naafil prayers, but when the time for Zuhr ends, he must do tayammum again for ‘Asr prayer.
Undoubtedly it is preferable to be on the safe side with regard to such matters, especially when there is no hardship involved in doing tayammum for every prayer.
When you reach Makkah, it is permissible for you to pray Taraweeh first, and to delay ‘umrah until a time when the crowds are less, or to delay it so that you can rest and regain strength and energy, so long as you avoid the things that are prohibited when in ihram.
And Allah knows best.
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