By providing different rulings for different situations, Islamic Law ensures that its injunctions are easy to carry out under all circumstances. Prayer is one of the most important pillars of Islam, and purification is one of the conditions for its validity. There are times when a person has to pray, but on account of illness or travel, will not be able to use water to perform the prescribed ablution. For this situation, Islam has prescribed dry ablution, where pure earth is used instead of water.
Tayammum - Dry Ablution should be performed when two conditions are met:
1. The time for prayer has arrived and
2. Water is either unavailable or the person is unable to use it
Method of Performing Dry Ablution:
1. With fingers spread wide, hit the tayamum pad or ground 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