Tayammum [dry wiping], linguistically, derives from “to intend towards”; the Arabs say “May Allah betake Himself towards you in His safeguarding”, that is, may He intend towards you; Imru’ Al-Qais used this poetically. … { Wipe your faces and your hands } : tayammum can substitute for ablution [wudu’] as regards purification, not that it substitutes for it regarding all the body parts, but it is sufficient to wipe just the face and hands according to universal consensus; the Imams did, however, differ regarding how to perform tayammum. … Ibn ‘Abd Al-Rahman ibn Abza related that a certain man came to ‘Umar and said: Indeed I became sexually impure but did not find any water. ‘Umar said: Do not pray. But ‘Ammar said: Do you not recall, oh Leader of the Believers, when you and me were out as part of a detachment, and we became sexually impure, and did not find any water, and you did not pray, but I rolled around in the dirt and then prayed. And when we came back to the Prophet (SAW), you mentioned this to him, and He said: Indeed this would have been good enough for you – and the Prophet (SAW) struck his hand on the ground, then blew into it, and wiped his face and hands with it. … His word { Allah does not wish to make things awkward for you } [Al-ma’ida 6]; that is, in the religion He has ordained for you all; { but wishes to purify you } : this is why He made it permissible for you all, whenever you can not find any water, to instead perform tayammum with earth; { to perfect his grace upon you so that perhaps you might give thanks } : this is why this people [ummah] is privileged by the lawfulness of tayammum, as opposed to all other people.