Firstly: The excuses that permit tayammum are the actual or deemed absence of water. The actual absence of water is when it is not available at all or is far away. The deemed absence of water is when water is present but cannot be used.
Accordingly, the excuses that permit tayammum can be summarized as follows:
- Complete absence of water.
- Water being at a considerable distance, which some Ḥanafī jurists (fuqahā᾽) estimated as a mile, equivalent to four thousand cubits, or approximately 1680 meters.
- Water being owned by others, with no ability to buy or obtain it.
- Water being reserved for a necessary need such as drinking.
- Water being present with inability to use it due to illness or injury.
- Fear of acquiring water due to danger from an enemy or a wild animal, or fear of losing belongings while obtaining it.
- Water being in a condition that causes harm if used, such as being frozen or extremely cold.
Secondly: Traveling by plane is a type of journey that generally restricts the normal performance of acts of worship, so concessions are allowed, such as praying while seated for obligatory prayers, not facing the qiblah, and other matters that are usually not permissible when residing and in good health.
Accordingly, if the situation is as described in the question, and two prayers that can be combined or one prayer that cannot be combined have passed during the woman’s travel, she is allowed to perform tayammum and pray. She does not need to repeat the prayer after her excuse ends; rather, she should perform ghusl and pray the forthcoming prayers, not the past ones.
Fatwa issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr
