It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) camped at the place of Awlat al-Jaish in the last part of the night, and with him was his wife Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Her necklace of pearls from Dhafar was lost, and the people were detained to search for this necklace. Meanwhile, dawn was breaking and the people did not have any water. So Allah Almighty revealed the concession of purification with pure earth. Thus, the Muslims stood with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and struck their hands on the earth, then raised them, and did not take any soil with their hands at all. Then they wiped them over their faces, and with the outer part of their hands up to the shoulders, and with the inner part up to the armpits, they also wiped those parts with their hands. But people should not be deceived by this condition, and it has reached us that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): By Allah! What I have understood is that you are very blessed.

Shaqiq says: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud and Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with them). Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): If a person does not find water, will he not pray? He replied: No, that is not the case. Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Do you not remember that Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): Do you not remember that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me and you with the camels, I became junub (in a state of major ritual impurity), so I lay down in the soil, but when I returned to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled and said: It would have been sufficient for you to do like this. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his palms once on the earth and wiped them once over the backs of his hands and his face. But Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Certainly, I did not see that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was satisfied with this. Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then what do you say about the verse in Surah An-Nisa: So if you do not find water, then perform tayammum with clean earth. At this point, Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) had no answer, but he said: If we give them the concession of tayammum, it is likely that whenever someone finds water cold, he will perform tayammum.

(Second chain) Shaqiq says: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Abu Abdur Rahman! What is your opinion regarding a man who does not find water (for ghusl), while he has been in a state of janabah for a month—should he not perform tayammum? He (Abdullah) said: No, even if he does not find water for a month. Then he mentioned a hadith similar to the previous one, except that in this one it is stated: Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Did you not hear the statement of Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him)? He says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me on an errand, so I became junub and did not find water for ghusl, so I lay down in the dust like an animal, then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him of this. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It would have been sufficient for you to do like this. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his hands on the earth, then wiped each hand over the other, and then wiped both hands over his face. In it, there are also these additional words: Once Abu Muawiyah described the method as follows: So he (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his hands on the earth, then wiped the left hand over the right and the right over the left on the palms, and then wiped them over his face.

(Third chain) Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): If we do not find water (while we are in a state of major impurity), should we not perform the prayer? He replied: Yes, if we do not find water for even a month, we will not perform the prayer. If I grant people concession in this matter, then whoever feels cold will start performing tayammum and begin to pray. Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Then what about the statement that Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) made to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)? He replied: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was not satisfied with Sayyiduna Ammar’s (may Allah be pleased with him) statement.

Abdur Rahman bin Abza says: We were with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), when a man came to him and said: O Commander of the Faithful! We stay for one or two months and do not find water. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: As for my own case, I will not pray until I find water. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Commander of the Faithful! Do you remember when we were herding camels at such-and-such place and we became in a state of major impurity (janabah)? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Yes. Sayyiduna Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: So I lay down in the soil, and when I came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned this, he laughed and said: The soil alone would have sufficed you. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) struck his palms on the earth, blew into them, and wiped them over his face and some parts of his arms. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Ammar! Fear Allah. He said: O Commander of the Faithful! If you wish, I will never mention this again in my life. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Never! By Allah, whatever you are willing to take responsibility for, we appoint you responsible for it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) that he asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about tayammum. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: One strike is for the palms and the face. In another narration: The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said about tayammum: One strike is for the face and the palms.

Mawla Ibn Abbas Umair says: I and Mawla Maimuna Abdullah bin Yasar went and entered upon Sayyiduna Abu Juhaim bin Harith Ansari. He said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was coming from the direction of Bi’r Jamal when a man met him and greeted him with salam. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did not reply to him until he turned towards a wall and wiped his face and both hands, and then he replied to his salam.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (ra) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been given five things which were not given to anyone before me: I have been sent to all people, whereas before me every prophet was sent specifically to his own people, and I have been sent to all people; spoils of war have been made lawful for me, whereas before me they were not lawful for anyone; I have been helped with awe (cast into the hearts of my enemies) from a distance of one month’s journey; the earth has been made a purifier and a mosque for me, so wherever a man finds the time for prayer, he should pray there.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The entire earth has been made a mosque and a purifier for me and for my Ummah, so wherever any member of my Ummah finds the time for prayer, he will have his mosque and his means of purification with him.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have been given comprehensive words, and the earth has been made a mosque and a purifier for me.