Purification with Earth (tayammum) according to the people of Shariah, Tariqah and Haqiqah

i) According to the people of shari`ah
Tayammum for the people of this group is purification by means of dust; this is used when water is absent or when one is excused its use. Tayammum takes the place of wudhu’ or the ghusl and is only permitted according to the following three conditions: the absence of water after having undertaken a search for it, or absence of the means whereby one may reach it (not possessing the price of the water, or a bucket, rope or the like), or because one fears for one's health or one's wealth (because of its excessive price) if one were to use it. Tayammum is not correct unless done with earth or whatever is commonly called earth (thus it includes the natural forms of dust, clay and stone).
As to the manner of its performance it is that the person strikes the earth once with both hands. If it is being done instead of the wudhu’, he should then brush off the excess dust and wipe his face with both hands from the point where the hair begins to grow at the top of the forehead down level with the nose; then he should wipe over the back of his right hand with the palm of his left, from the wrist to the ends of the fingers and then over the back of his left hand with the palm of his right, likewise from the wrist to the ends of the fingers. If the tayammum is done instead of the ghusl, then one should strike the earth twice, once for the face and once for the hands, the manner of performance being the same as above. The same things which invalidate the wudhu’ and the ghusl also invaliآ­date the tayammum (the only essential difference between the two being the capacity to use water or not); likewise all acts of worship permitted with wudhu’ are also permitted by means of layammum, the two being exactly equal as to their validity ‑ and Allah is more Knowing and more Wise and He it is Who says the truth and guides to the correct path.

ii) According to the people of tariqah
Before beginning this section in detail we should first define the meaning of the water of reality and the earth of reality.
According to the judgment of the intellect and the judgment contained in the narrated sources (of the Qur'an and the tradiآ­tions), the water of reality symbolizes the divine knowledge and gnosis or `the life of reality.' This is explained on examination of the words of Allah which affirm that the life of everything issues from water, `And We have made from water every living things.’1
It is evident that the life of every thing does not come from the water of the form (with which we are familiar): the angels, the jinn, the celestial spheres and planets are all recognized as things although their life does not issue from water, that is, they are not made up of the `water of form.' Likewise, although it may be said that all composite things contain a certain proportion of the water of form, the same may not be said about many other existent beings, like, for example, the simple elements and the higher, sublime realities. What in fact is being said is that just as the degree of perfection in knowledge differs in rank and quality, so too water varies in its degrees of saltiness and sweetآ­ness and in other specific qualities.
We have already mentioned in our investigation of tawhid that every existent being has speech, life and knowledge. What is meant by knowledge is knowledge of Allah, His Names, His Attributes and His Actions; indeed there is no existent being that is devoid of these different degrees of knowledge, for they are possessed in accordance with the capacity, merit and recepآ­tivity of each; this (as we have already explained) is indicated in Allah's words, `And there is not a single thing but glorifies Him with His praise, but you do not understand their glorificaآ­tion.' Glorification of anything can only take place after gnosis of that thing and affirmation of that thing's existence. Thus our statement that everything in existence possesses three things ‑ knowledge, gnosis and life ‑ is correct.
According to most comآ­mentators, Allah's words, `He sends down water from the cloud, then watercourses flow (with water) according to their measure' also reflects this meaning since the water here refers to knowledge, the watercourses the hearts and `to their measure' to the capacity and capability to which every existent being may attains. Likewise Allah's words, `And His Throne (dominion) extends on the water' also indicates this meaning, since there is no link or relationship between the throne of form and the water of form, either with respect to the legal judgments and the nature of existent beings or with respect to the dictates of the intellect. Thus the meaning of knowledge ‑ which is a universal reality pervading all things in a measure specific to each thing ‑ is referred to in His words, `That is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing.' This is the best and most accurate of explanations, since the Throne and other realities besides the Throne are not established except by means of life and real life is nothing else but knowledge. The throne is one of the mightiest bodies or entities and the closest of things to the highest celestial realities; thus if the mightiest of things is described as possessing some of those qualities shared by other things in general, then of necessity this principle is applicable to other things lower than it. This is affirmed in Allah's words, `The Beneficent Who ascended the Throne (and established His power);' by His Power over the mightiest of things He of necessity has dominion over everything below. There are numerous studies of a rational and logical nature on the subject but it would be inappropriate to include them here.
The `real' or `true' earth is the antithesis of this water according to both the judgment of the intellect and that contained in the narrated sources: the `real water' is spiritual knowledge and sacred gnosis and the `real earth' tangible, acquired knowledge and speculative and cognitive gnosis. If every time it was menآ­tioned, the meaning of earth were pure dust (as the meaning of the Arabic would imply on the first reading), then Allah would not have said of Adam, `Surely the likeness of Jesus (Isa) is with Allah as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust'.
Alآ­though the word dust is used, it is clear that Adam was not created purely from dust, rather he was created from this, toآ­gether with other elements; thus the dust is just one part of the various component elements of his body, but the whole is referred to as dust because it forms the major part in comparison to the other elements. This principle also applies to the animals, indeed to every existent being. Iblis (Satan), for example, was not created from fire alone (despite his saying, `You have created me from fire') but rather from the four elements. He describes himself as having been made from fire because it constitutes the major element of the different components (fire is the dominant element of composition of the jinn of which Satan is a member).
Thus what is meant by dust, with respect to the creation of Adam, is in fact earth, together with all the other elements comآ­monly associated with earth. Similarly, it is the knowledge of the outer acquired through the senses, with the aid of the speculaآ­tive faculty, that is referred to as true earth. Thus it is apposite to connect all knowledge whose source springs from the outward and inward senses with the dust, and all knowledge whose source springs from unveilings and divine outpourings ‑ like the diآ­vine knowledge and gnosis (known variously as revelation, inspiآ­ration or knowledge from His presence) ‑ to this water. Allah refers to this in His words, `And if they had kept up the Torah (tawrah) and the Gospel (injil) and that which was revealed to them from their Lord, they would certainly have eaten from above them and below them and from beneath their feet.'
What is here referred to as `above' is an indication of the spiritual world and the knowledge which is revealed from this world; what is referred to as `below' is an indication of the knowledge of the physical realm and all the other knowledge which may be acآ­quired from this realm. What some commentators have said, namely that the eating from above refers to the rain and from below to the plants, is not true, however, since the water and the plants are obtained not only by those who abide by the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur'an but also by all other men and animals as well. Thus to infer that the obtaining of these two types of food is conditional upon the keeping up of the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur'an is rationally untenable to anyone who reflects upon this matter.
If the people of tariqah are not able to purify the inner with the water of the gnosis of reality (because of the existence of some kind of obstacle), then it is permissible for them to use the above‑mentioned knowledge of the outer in order to purify their inner self ‑ in a measure appropriate to the degree of their outward knowledge. The knowledge of the outer is thus related to the shari`ah, the knowledge of the inner to the tariqah, and the gnostic knowledge (which occupies a position above these two) to the haqiqah. Thus if the spiritual traveler is not able to obtain purification, with respect to the tariqah, by means of the real or true water, then he is permitted to purify his outer knowledge by means of the shari`ah. This is because the gradual purification of the outer leads to a purification of the inner; thus it is that Allah refers in detail to the reason for tayammum when He says, `And if you are sick, or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth, then wipe your faces, and your hands therewith. Allah does not desire to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favour on you, so that you may be grateful.'
Allah also refers to another aspect of this matter by His comآ­manding the slave to purify the self by means of the element of pure earth; in doing so He is commanding the person who is unable to purify the self by means of the intellect to fulfill the duties of the shari`ah, since the intellect corresponds to water in its ability to purify in the realm of reality. Outer purity is a necessary prerequisite of inner purity (as we have seen above). Allah refers to this with His words, `And your garments do purify and uncleanness do shun;' here the garments indicate the body and all its outward actions, `do purify" the purification of the shari'ah and uncleanness here indicates man's attachment to the world and his becoming sullied by it.
Thus it is permissible to understand these words as words of guidance and instruction for the spiritual traveler, telling him to return to the original state of annihilation and non‑existence. This state is here called the dust on the one hand, since it is from this that man originally comes, as is evident from his outward and physical existence, and water on the other, since he is also originally from water. Hence Allah says, `He has created you from dust' and `I created you before when you were nothing.' This means that if the spiritual traveler is not able to use the water of reality, he may use dust, the substance out of which he was formed and the basest and lowest of things, to attain to a state of total humility; by means of this state he may attain to a state of poverty and absolute submission, which in turn are the two prerequisites for entry into the Presence of His Power. This Presence of Power is also known as the Garden of the Essence as indicated in His words, `I am with those who possess hearts of humility' and in the words of the gnostic slave, `When poverty is perfected then that is Allah.' This station may also be expressed as a submersion in the ocean of the water of eternal life, whereby true purity is attained together with entry into the House of Allah, the al‑Aqsa Mosque and Masjid al‑Haram which are all forbidden of access to other than those in this state of purity.
Shaykh Muhyi al‑Din has indicated the aspect connected to dust, poverty and humility in a section devoted to this topic in his Futuhat: `The earth becomes the goal because by its nature it is in a state of humility. In an absolute sense it is this humility which is the aim of slavery and worship; thus the purification of the slave is by fulfilling that which is expected of a slave, namely humility, poverty, respect of His Lord's rites, laws and commands. If it is forgotten that one's worship takes place on the earth, then one is reminded again by the fact that tayammum can only be done with the dust which is a part of this earth, that man and his progeny is from earth and that he remains close to it of necessity by his poverty and neediness. This notion is reآ­flected in the saying of the Arabs, "The hand of the man becomes dusty when he is in need." '
When the slave of Allah recognizes that dust is the lowest of the elements and that it is part of his own origins, then he is purified of any impurity which might cause him to leave this station. But this only applies in the case when water cannot be found. Water, as we have said, is knowledge: it is by knowledge that the hearts are given life, just as it is by water that the body and earth are given life. This is like the state of the person who imitates the dictates of his intellect with respect to his perception of Allah. Just as the tayammum of the person who finds water, and is able to use it, is invalidated, so too, if the legal code of the shari`ah commands to something, is one's obedience to the intellect and one's reflection upon Allah's intent with respect to that matter invalidated. This rule applies in particular when the intellect is unable to find a sufficient proof it is the intellect itself which demands that one turn back to the legal code for affirmaآ­tion. In this case the intellect and the legal code work in harmony; when this is realized, then one benefits greatly with respect to one's understanding of the secrets of worship.
Shaykh Muhyi al‑Din has also indicated how water may be sub‑divided according to the various levels of knowledge of truth and reality. We shall not discuss this matter here for fear of making this section too lengthy and of incommodating the reader. The overall purpose of this discussion, however, is as we have outlined above.
It is obligatory for the spiritual traveler to do tayammum (as we have mentioned above) in order that he may be able to use the above‑mentioned water, that is, attain to the knowledge of truth and reality. The manner of this tayammum is that the person first wipes his face with the above‑mentioned dust. In doing so, he purifies his secret and his reality of any impurity arising from attachment to this world and from loving any other but Allah; he then adorns his outward aspect with acts of obedience in accordance with the prophetic laws; he then wipes his right side, that is his heart, in order to purify it from attachment to the next world and from all associated with it, whether it be the blessings of the Garden, maidens or palaces; he then wipes his left side, that is his soul, in order to attain purification from this world and all associated with it, be it wealth, position and general benefit. Moreover, purification of the right and left side is only obtained by abandoning this world and the next (as we have already explained above). It is for this reason that we must wipe over the back of the right hand with the palm of the left and the back of the left with the palm of the right ‑ such that the person does not oppose or contradict his outer with his inner and his inner with his outer. Thus purification of the one is achieved by means of the other.

iii) According to the people of haqiqah
The tayammum of this group refers to their annihilation from the world itself and all contained therein, including all the simple elements and compounds; in this way they are purified from egotism and otherness, which of necessity accompanies their attachment to the world and all contained therein. This is so since the world of the outer, which is also called the mulk or kingdom is equivalent to dust and the world of the inner, called the malakut or spiritual realm, is equivalent to water. This is shown by the fact that when Allah talks of the kingdom, He usually does so by referring to it as the earth and when He speaks of the spiritual realm, He usually does so by referring to the sky. The earth is obviously related to dust by the density and opaqueآ­ness of its nature, indeed the earth is composed of dust itself. The sky is related to water by the subtleness and lightness of its nature, indeed the sky is composed of water itself, this is conآ­firmed by the consensus of the people of shari`ah and by a comآ­parison of the cosmic and the individual dimensions. We shall now enlarge on this in more detail.
The difference between the people of tariqah and the people of haqiqah with respect to this purification is that the former purify themselves from blameworthy behaviour and from base characآ­teristics by taking upon themselves praiseworthy characteristics and good qualities; the latter, however, purify themselves from the ego and any traces of themselves that might lead to duality and (seeing) other‑than‑Him. This is affirmed in the words of the Prophet when he says, `Surely it is a covering on my heart and surely I seek forgiveness from Allah seventy times every day and night.'
This is also reflected in the words of the gnostic, `Between You and me there is an individual existence which is in conflict with me so remove, by Your grace, this individual existence from between us.' The covering which is indicated in the saying of the Prophet is his return to the world of multiplicity in order that he may call and guide the people. This is indicated by his words in the Qur'an, `Say: I am only a mortal like you' and also Allah's words,’ (it is) only a delivery (of communicaآ­tions) from Allah.' The complete stripping away of the self and the utter solitariness which he attains at certain times is also an indication of this state. The Prophet's saying `I have times with Allah that I do not share even with the most intimate angel or prophet' demonstrates that he was in the world of arrival at Allah and total intimacy; it is the station of abiding after annihiآ­lation, expressed in His words, `Two bows' lengths or closer still.'
The shaking off of the excess dust from one's hands after striking them on the ground during performance of the tayammum is an indication of one's hands shaking off their attachment to the two worlds. This kind of purification is performed by the gnostic striking his hands ‑ which here represent the intellect and the self ‑ on the world of the outer and that of the inner and preventing them from `paying attention' to these worlds in any way; he then shakes his hands to remove the sight of this total annihilation; he then wipes over his true or real face ‑ which is sometimes expressed as the secret and sometimes the spirit ‑ in order to ascertain whether there remains any trace of love of the two worlds or not; he then wipes the back and palms of both hands (which are also expressions of the intellect and self), using the back and palm of both hands, in order to establish whether in reality there remains any trace on them of attachment to the two worlds. If there is attachment to otherآ­ than Him in any way, be it strong or weak, then he is prevented from attaining the true purification of reality, be it by means of water or earth. Thus the spiritual traveler must inspect his outer and inner at the time of their annihilation in order to see if there remains any trace in them of attachment to the two worlds. This notion is supported by the words of the Prophet, `This world is forbidden to the people of the hereafter and the hereafter is forbidden to the people of this and both are forbidden to the people of Allah.
Love of this world and the next is a veil and is a kind of shirk of something else with Allah. The existence of a veil, or of shirk, renders attainment of purification impossible, since the person who is veiled or quality of shirk is unclean, according to Allah's judgment: `Surely the idol worshippers, are nothing but unclean.' It is evident too that purity and uncleanliness are two opposites which can never be reconciled. Thus it is necessary to remove uncleanliness before beginning the purification in the manner we have already explained. Allah has referred to this with His words, `O you who are clothed! Arise and warn, and magnify your Lord, and purify your garments and shun uncleanآ­liness.' The words `and purify your garments' refer to the purifiآ­cation of the outer; the words `and shun uncleanliness' refer to the purification of the inner by distancing oneself from the unآ­cleanliness of idolatry, veiling and seeing other‑than‑Him.
There are many other examples of a similar nature in the Qur'an and the body of ahadith, and the reader is advised to investigate them in the appropriate sources. At this point we shall conclude our study of the three types of purification, namely wudhu’, ‑ghusl and tayammum, in the light of this particular station; and Allah says the truth and guides to the correct path.
Knowledge of the qiblah (direction of prayer) and the time and place of the prayer should be sought in the appropriate books off jurisآ­prudence, as it would not be fitting to continue the study thereof in a work of this kind (although we shall be obliged to discuss the matter in due course, as the reader shall see). We shall now begin a study of the nature of prayer.