Tayammum Pad

Islamic law provides different rulings for different situations, so that its requirements can be met in any circumstance. Prayer is among the most important pillars, and purification is a condition of its validity — yet there are times when a person must pray and, through illness or travel, cannot use water.

For that, Islam prescribed tayammum: pure earth in place of water. The difficulty in practice is finding clean earth. In a car, on an aircraft, or in a hospital bed, there is none.

What This Is

A small portable box containing a soft one-inch pad filled with dust. It solves the access problem, and it is sized to be carried rather than stored.

Where It Is Used

• In the car — for prayers on the road where no facilities are available
• On a flight — where washing properly is difficult or impossible
• In hospital — for a patient who cannot reach a washroom or must not get a wound wet
• For someone ill at home, who wants to keep praying and cannot manage wudu

That third and fourth use is where this matters most. Giving one to a sick relative removes an obstacle between them and their prayer at exactly the point when the prayer is most valuable to them — and it is a genuinely thoughtful thing to bring to a hospital visit.

When Tayammum Is Performed

Two conditions must both be met: the time for the prayer has arrived, and water is either unavailable or the person is unable to use it.

How It Is Performed

1. With the fingers spread wide, strike the pad with the palms of both hands
2. Wipe the face with the palms of both hands
3. Wipe the back of each hand up to the wrist

Related Items

• Prayer According to the Sunnah — the fiqh of tayammum, wudu and ghusl in full
• Prayer and Purification — purification and prayer explained simply