O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janābah,1 then purify yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women2 and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allāh does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
O you who believe in Allah, follow His Messenger and practice His laws, when you intend to stand up to offer the prayer and you are in the state of minor ritual impurity, then perform ablution by washing your faces and then your hands together with the elbows, then wiping your heads and finally washing your feet together with the ankles. If you are in the state of major ritual impurity, then take a full bath. If you are sick and you fear that the sickness will get worse or the healing will be delayed, or if you are on a journey even though you are not sick, or if you are in the state of minor ritual impurity, such as after going to the toilet, or in a state of major ritual impurity, such as after having had sexual intercourse, and you do not find water to purify yourselves with, despite having searched for it, then make use of the ground by striking it with your hands and then wiping over your faces and then wiping your hands with it. Allah does not wish to make the laws difficult for you by forcing you to use water that may lead to harm or difficulty. He has therefore given you a substitute when this is not possible due to sickness or the lack of water. This is a completion of His favour on you, so that you give thanks for such favour and are not ungrateful.