Ghusl and Tayammum
Provided hereunder is a selection of ahadith from the Ma’ariful Hadith by Mawlana Manzoor No’mani as translated by Muhammad Asif Kidwai under the title Meaning and Message of the Traditions.
[1] It is related on the authority of ‘A’ishah that “when the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to take bath, he first washed both the hands, then cleaned the private parts with the left hand and poured water over them with the right hand, and, then performed Wudhu as is done for Salah. After it, he took water and made it reach the roots of the hair (of his head and beard) by moving the roots of the hair with his fingers till he was sure that the water had got to every place, and, then, poured water over his head three times. He, then, poured water all over his body, (right first then left), and afterwards, washed both his feet.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
[2] Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “When you wear a dress or perform Wudhu, begin from the right side of your body.” [Musnad Ahmad, Abu Da’ud]
[3] It is related by Samurah ibn Jundub that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Whoever performs Wudhu on Friday (i.e. for Friday prayers), it is correct and adequate, and whoever takes a bath, then to take a bath is better.” [Musnad Ahmad, Abu Da’ud, Tirmidhi, Nasai, and Darimi]
[4] It is related by Abu Dhar al-Ghiffari that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Clean earth is the means of purification for a Muslim if water is not available even for ten years. When he finds water he should pour it over the body, i.e. perform Wudhu or bath with it for there is much good in it.” [Musnad Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and Abu Da’ud]
[5] It is related on the authority of Ammar ibn Yasir that a man came to ‘Umar and said, “I am in the state of ceremonial impurity and no water is available. What am I to do then?” Upon it Ammar (who happened to be present) said (to ‘Umar), “Do you remember that once you and I were together on a journey (and it had become necessary for both of us to take a bath). You did not pray in that condition but I rolled on the ground (and offered Prayer), thinking that like a bath, the Tayammum of ceremonial impurity too, was of the whole body. When we returned from the journey I told about it to the Prophet, and he said, ‘It was not at all necessary to roll on the ground. It would have been sufficient if you did like this.’ On saying it, the Prophet stroked lightly the earth with his hands, and then blew off the dust and passed his hands over his face and forearms.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
[6] Abu Sa’id al-Khudri narrated to us that “two Companions went on a journey (and during it), it so happened that the time for Prayer came and they were without water. So, they both prayed by doing Tayammum but water was found before the time for Prayer had elapsed. Upon it, one of them offered the Prayer again after performing the Wudhu while the other did not Pray for the second time. Afterwards, when they returned and went to the Prophet, they related the incident to him. The Prophet told the Companion who had not prayed again, ‘You did the right thing, and the Prayer you did by doing Tayammum will suffice for you.’ And to the Companion who had Prayed the second time by performing Wudhu, the Prophet said, ‘You will get a double reward (because your second Prayer became a supererogatory one). And Allah does not allow a good deed to go waste.’” [Abu Da’ud and Darimi]
