The Clairmont Main Road Mosque (CMRM) as part of its water saving action plan, have placed jugs of water in the ablution area and stopped the water supply from the taps, according to Imam Dr A Rashied Omar. Congregants have been recommended to perform ablution by washing only the obligatory (fard) parts of the body (face, hands to elbows, head and feet) once instead of thrice, and in this way demonstrated that less than half a cup of water could be used to perform the ritual ablution.
“In 2018 the water crisis has now officially escalated to the level of disaster and we are hurtling towards Day Zero when the City of Cape Town will shut down its water reticulation supply in residential areas. CMRM has therefore taken further steps to conserve water.
“We have closed the hand basin taps in our toilet area, and replaced them with jugs of water. We also recommend that Muslims make a greater effort to save water by beginning to adopt the alternative mode of ritual ablution, the dry ablution (known as tayammum). The dry ablution is a legitimate Islamic alternative and can be performed in preparation for the ritual prayer and other acts of worship instead of ablution with water. This recommendation is based on clear evidence from the Qur’an in Chapter 5, verse 6, where Allah proclaims: “if you cannot obtain water [for ablution] then obtain for yourselves fine earth or sand and wipe your faces and hands with it. God does not want to make it hard and difficult for you, but wants to make you pure and clean”.
The Qurʾānic teaching of the dry ablution embodies the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) practice of ease in the face of hardship. He worked tirelessly to establish this principle of ease to alleviate hardship and frequently reminded his followers that: “The Religion (of Islam) is easy. Any worshipper who becomes severe in adhering to the teachings of this religion will be overwhelmed. Therefore, do not be extreme in your devotions. Rather, seek to perform acts of worship to the best of your ability”.
Mindful of this central teaching of Islam, all the major schools of Islamic law recognize the “principle of ease” as an essential part of Islamic jurisprudence. Among the legal maxims in Islamic jurisprudence one rule states: “instances of hardship elicit ease”.
“This rule implies that whenever a hardship confronts a believer then the “principle of ease” applies. This rule applies to the water crisis we are currently experiencing. We therefore recommend that all Muslim citizens adopt the performance of the dry ablution, using fine earth, sand or clay, for ritual prayers in the current dire circumstances of a water shortage. Muslims do not have to wait for the taps to run dry, before embracing the dry ablution. The current water crisis should be sufficient to warrant its legitimacy,” said Imam Dr Omar.
He also added, “Water plays an essential role in the lives of Muslims, not only because Islam encourages high standards of cleanliness and personal hygiene, but also because purification through ablution is a pre-requisite for performing the five daily ritual prayers. “Legally, the wudu entails a ritual of washing the hands, mouth, nose, face, head, ears, arms to elbows, and feet to ankles, each three times, at least five times a day. If, for example, a minimum of one litre of water were used for each ablution, this would already contribute to five litres of a Muslim’s daily water consumption.
“Bearing this in mind, and considering the Water Crisis in the City of Cape Town, which started three years ago, the Claremont Main Road Mosque (CMRM) immediately took modest steps to conserve this precious resource and embarked on a robust water-saving educational campaign,” he said.
Imam Dr A Rashied Omar ended with a prayer “We pray that God, the Lord of Compassion, will soon bless us with abundant rain and bring relief from the drought-stricken conditions faced by our City and large parts of the country. May we always remain good stewards of nature’s gifts.” It’s a prayer and message we all need to adopt and support whatever initiative there is to ease the hardship which not only affects man but animals and plants as well.