🕌 Worship in the home · #54
A wife has just had a caesarean or is ill and must not get wet. How does she perform the obligatory bath?
If water would harm her according to medical advice, she may perform tayammum in place of the obligatory bath or wudu, and wash the parts of the body that are unaffected.
Allah says: if you are ill or on a journey, or find no water, then perform tayammum with clean earth (an-Nisa' 4:43, al-Ma'idah 5:6). ʿAmmar ibn Yasir r.a. once rolled in the dust because he was in a state of janabah, and the Prophet ﷺ taught him that it is enough to strike the earth and wipe the face and both hands (Sahih al-Bukhari 338). According to the Shafi'i school, a bandaged part (jabirah) is wiped with water if possible, healthy parts are washed, and tayammum is done for the parts that cannot be washed. Tayammum is performed for each obligatory prayer. Once healed, the obligatory bath is taken as normal. See Wudu & the obligatory bath.
Allah says: if you are ill or on a journey, or find no water, then perform tayammum with clean earth (an-Nisa' 4:43, al-Ma'idah 5:6). ʿAmmar ibn Yasir r.a. once rolled in the dust because he was in a state of janabah, and the Prophet ﷺ taught him that it is enough to strike the earth and wipe the face and both hands (Sahih al-Bukhari 338). According to the Shafi'i school, a bandaged part (jabirah) is wiped with water if possible, healthy parts are washed, and tayammum is done for the parts that cannot be washed. Tayammum is performed for each obligatory prayer. Once healed, the obligatory bath is taken as normal. See Wudu & the obligatory bath.
Sources
Surah an-Nisa' 4:43Surah al-Ma'idah 5:6Sahih al-Bukhari 338