Question
A man has a fracture in his leg which is wrapped in plaster, and he is told not to make it wet. Can he do tayammum if he has a wet dream or has sexual intercourse with his wife, even though he has access to water? Please guide.
Answer
All praise is due to Allaah, and may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the one who has no prophet after him!
If a person has a dressing or a plaster wrapped in any part of his body due to a wound or injury and he wants to do wudoo or ghusl from major impurity, then such a person will pour water on the remaining parts of his body and avoid washing the affected part. Instead, he should just do masah (i.e. wipe with damp hands) over it; and if doing masah over it is also not possible (as it may cause the wound to worsen or delay its healing) then he must do tayammum.
It appears from the question that the questioner finds it difficult to do ghusl and masah, then in such a case, it is obligatory for him to adopt its alternative i.e. tayammum.
It is what the general meaning of the following saying of Allaah entails:
وَإِن كُنتُم مَرضىٰ أَو عَلىٰ سَفَرٍ أَو جاءَ أَحَدٌ مِنكُم مِنَ الغائِطِ أَو لـٰمَستُمُ النِّساءَ فَلَم تَجِدوا ماءً فَتَيَمَّموا صَعيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامسَحوا بِوُجوهِكُم وَأَيديكُم
“And if you are ill, on a journey, or have relieved yourselves, or been intimate with your wives and cannot find water, then purify yourselves with clean earth, wiping your faces and hands…”
(Al-Nisaa: 43)
The incident of a wounded Sahaabi also proves the same. It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (radiallah anhuma) that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
(لو غسل جسده وترك رأسه حيث أصابه الجراح)
“If only he had washed his body and left his head alone where the wound was”
(Sunan Ibn Maajah: 2/188 H. 572)
And in the narration of Jaabir (radiallah anhu), the Prophet (ﷺ) said:
(إنما كان يكفيه أن يتيمم)
“It would have been enough for him to perform tayammum”
(Sunan Abu Dawood: 336)
Hence, we come to know based on the discussion above that he should do tayammum over the affected area despite having access to water.
And Allaah knows best.
Noble Muftis
His eminence Shaykh Abu Muhammad AbdusSattar Hammad (President)
His eminence Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Mubashshir Ahmad Rabbani (may Allah preserve him) (Vice-President)
His eminence Shaykh Abdul Haleem Bilal (may Allah preserve him)
His eminence Shaykh Javaid Iqbal Siyalkoti (may Allah preserve him)
