Step 5 of 7
How to Make Tayammum
Say Bismillah, then strike the pure earth lightly with the palms of both hands. Blow on them or shake them gently so that only a little dust remains. Wipe your whole face with your palms, then wipe your hands, the right and then the left.
This is what the Prophet ﷺ showed 'Ammar ibn Yasir. 'Ammar had been in janabah on a journey with no water and had rolled in the dust like an animal; the Prophet ﷺ said: “This would have been enough for you,” then struck the earth with his palms, blew on them, and wiped his face and hands.
Wiping the face and the hands is agreed upon by all four schools; the wiping replaces washing, so you do not need to make the dust reach under the hair of the beard. Remove a ring so that the hand is wiped completely. The schools differ on how many strikes are made and on how far up the arm you wipe.
The four schools differ on some details. Show them
Each school's ruling, with the schools that share it named together.
How many times do you strike the earth?
2 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Maliki, Hanbali.
Show each school
- Two strikesHanafi · Shafi'i
- One obligatory, a second sunnahMaliki
- One strikeHanbali
- Hanafi
- Tayammum is two strikes, one for wiping the face and one for wiping the arms.
- Maliki
- The first strike, for the face and hands, is an obligation; a second strike for the arms is a sunnah.
- Shafi'i
- Two separate strikes are required, one for the face and one for the arms, and one strike is not enough.
- Hanbali
- The sunnah is a single strike for both the face and the hands, following the hadith of 'Ammar; two strikes are also permitted.
How far up the arms do you wipe?
2 of 4 schools agree. Differing: Maliki, Hanbali.
Show each school
- Up to and including the elbowsHanafi · Shafi'i
- To the wrists; to the elbows is sunnahMaliki
- To the wristsHanbali
- Hanafi
- The arms are wiped up to and including the elbows, since tayammum stands in for wudu, where the arms are washed to the elbows.
- Maliki
- Wiping the hands to the wrists is the obligation, and continuing to the elbows is a sunnah.
- Shafi'i
- The arms are wiped with the elbows included, as in wudu.
- Hanbali
- Only the hands up to the wrists are wiped, because in the hadith of 'Ammar the Prophet ﷺ wiped his face and his hands.
- Qur'an 5:6
- Sahih al-Bukhari 338 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 368Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih al-Bukhari 347 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
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