If we know that ghusl is compulsory on us, yet we are running short of time for prayer or for any other commitment. can we do tayamum in that case even when we have water available? and what if we have impurity stick to our clothes or body?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If a person wakes up in a state of sexual defilement and there is not much time left, such that if he performs Ghusl (ritual bath) the time of the prayer would expire, then he is obliged to perform Ghusl even if the time [of the prayer] expires. This is according to the view of the majority of the scholars as we have already clarified in Fatwa 99381.

However, if he does not have [or cannot find] water in principle, and he knows that the time would expire if he is busy trying to find it (for example when the water is far and the like) then in this case, he should perform Tayammum (dry ablution) and pray. He should not delay the prayer until its prescribed fixed time expires.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said,

“When the time of the prayer begins, like the appearance of dawn (Fajr), and if a person knows that if he performs Ghusl he will not be able to perform the prayer before sunrise (due to the water being far, or the public showers being closed, or due to being poor and not having the fee to pay for the [public] bath) then in this case, he may perform Tayammum (dry ablution) and pray on time. He should not delay the prayer until its time expires. However, if he wakes up and there is water available then according to the view of many scholars, he should perform Ghusl and pray, even if it is after sunrise, as the time for prayer for him starts from when he wakes up. This is contrary to the person who is originally awake, then his time is from the beginning of the time of Fajr.”

As regards a person who finds an impurity on his clothes or his body, then this may be one of three cases:

1- If he finds it before starting the prayer: He is obliged to remove the impurity wherever it is because removing the impurity is a condition for the validity of the prayer.

2- If he becomes aware of the impurity during the prayer: Provided he can get rid of it without stopping the prayer then he should do so, for example if he was praying while wearing his shoes and noticed an impurity on them and he can remove them, then he should remove them. Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri narrated that while the Prophet was leading the prayer with his Companions, he took his shoes off and put them on his left side, and the people took off their shoes as well. When the Prophet finished his prayer, he asked: ''Why did you take off your shoes?” They [the Companions] said, “We saw you taking off your shoes so we took them off.” He [the Prophet ] said: “Jibreel (Gabriel) came and informed me that there was an impurity on them.” [Abu Daawood]

3- If a person becomes aware of the impurity after the prayer; then his prayer is correct and he is not obliged to repeat it according to the view we adopt in Islamweb. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in his book Majmoo’ Al-Fataawi:

“The ruling on impurity is confirmed by knowledge, so if one prays while he has an impurity on his body or clothes and he does not know about it until after the prayer, then he is not obliged to repeat it according to the most correct opinion of the two opinions of the scholars. This is the view of Imaam Maalik and others . This is also the view of Imaam Ahmad in the most correct of his two narrations. This ruling applies whether he knew it and forgot about it or that he did not know it in principle. The evicence is the abovementioned case when the Prophet had an impurity on his shoes and then he took them off during the prayer when Jibreel informed him that there was an impurity on them. He continued his prayer and did not repeat it although there was an impurity [on them] from the beginning of the prayer but he was not aware of it…”

Allaah Knows best.