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Fatwa CenterReplacing ablution with tayammum so as not to be seen by non-Mahram men
Question
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. Is tayammum permissible in the following cases?
A)
1- If water is available but there is no real/correct privacy for the woman and there is a fear/risk of a non-Mahram (permanently unmarriageable) man to enter and see her while performing ablution while she is not wearing the hijab because she is performing ablution?
2- If Ghusl (ritual shower taken in a state of major ritual impurity) is obligatory and water is available but Ghusl facilities are not available? In this situtation, will Tayammum (dry ablution) be a replacement for both Ghusl and ablution? And should the person continue doing this until Ghusl facilities becomes available?
3- if the person is a traveller and is allowed to shorten the prayer and water is unavailable at the time of the Dhuhr prayer, for example, and there are chances that it may be available for the 'Asr prayer. Is it permissible then? And what is best, to delay the prayer till the 'Asr prayer and shorten them then or do Tayammum and pray at the Dhuhr time?
4- if a person is in Ihraam (ritual state of consecration assumed for Hajj or 'Umrah) and becomes impure due to a wet dream or any other reason and there are no Ghusl facilities available but there is water, should he do tayammum and perform the rituals until he encounters Ghusl facilities?
B) When a person does Tayammum, may they do all actions that are done while in state of purity like, for example, touching a copy of the Quran, perform voluntary prayers, and so on?
C) In what cases does a person need to repeat the prayer done with dry ablution? In any of the above? In other than the above?
May Allaah reward you.
Answer
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.
With regard to a woman performing Tayammum while there is water because of her fearing that a non-Mahram man would enter (and see her while performing ablution), then, in principle, it is not permissible to perform Tayammum while there is water, and this fear alone is not sufficient for her to opt for Tayammum as she may close the door upon her, for example, or perform ablution in a way that does not reveal her body, such as wiping over the socks – if she wore them after having performed ablution at home – instead of revealing her feet and washing them.
Also, she may not reveal her arms to the elbows from the beginning of ablution, but she only reveals them when she is about to wash them. Also, she does not reveal her hair from the beginning of ablution, but only when she is about to wipe over it or she wipes from underneath her head cover without removing it. There is a difference of opinion about (covering) the face and hands and thus the matter is easier with regard to them. So a woman does not perform Tayammum while there is water unless she knows or predominantly thinks that a non-Mahram man will see her ‘Awrah (what should be covered of the body) while she cannot cover herself at all. It is only in this case that she can opt for Tayammum.
The Fiqh Encyclopedia reads:
“What is understood from the statements of the Maaliki and Shaafi'i Schools is that if performing ablution with water leads to exposing one’s ‘Awrah, then in this case one opts for Tayammum because covering the ‘Awrah is a must with no alternative, and it is an obligation in prayer and to be safe from being seen by people; so it is permissible to do what is forbidden due to that, such as a man covering his ‘Awrah with silk if it is a must for him to do so. As regards being purified [performing ablution or Ghusl] with water, then there is an alternative for it [Tayammum], and it is not permitted to commit what is forbidden for it.” [End of quote]
This includes ablution and Ghusl; a woman opts for Tayammum instead of Ghusl if she does not find a place to perform Ghusl and it was not possible at all for her to perform Ghusl while not being seen by men.
As for your other questions, please refer to fataawa 84036, 99381, 39910 and 237019.
We apologize for not answering the other questions because we made it clear in the question entry field one is only permitted to enter one question at a time, and if one asks more than one question, then it is only his first question that is answered. You may ask your other questions separately, each a question at a time.
Allaah knows best.
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