Hadith #574

Arabic Text

English Translation

Yaʿlā ibn ʿUbayd narrated to us, al-Aʿmash narrated to us, from Shaqīq, who said: I was sitting with ʿAbdullāh and Abū Mūsā. Abū Mūsā said: 'O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, a man becomes junub and cannot find water — does he pray?' He said: 'No.' He said: 'Did you not hear ʿAmmār's words to ʿUmar: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent us — you and me — and I became junub, so I rolled in the earth. We came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and told him. He said: It would have sufficed you to do this — and he wiped his face and palms once.' He said: 'I did not see ʿUmar satisfied with that.' He said: 'Then what do you do with this verse: {If you do not find water, then purify yourselves with clean earth}?' He said: 'If we gave them this concession, whenever one of them found cold water he would use earth instead.' Al-Aʿmash said: I said to Shaqīq: He only disliked it for this reason.