Answered by Ustadha Noura Shamma, SunniPath Academy Teacher
I have eczema on my hands. Even if i do a little bit of house work, it becomes worse. Especially when i touch water. I have to wear gloves to do washing up. When it comes to wudu i have been doing thayamum. I have been advised on a different site to do this until it becomes better. The thing is it doesn’t get better, as soon as i do too much house work it starts to get worse. I can only do ghusl limited times, again because the water causes my hands to itch – which then leads to bleeding. What i would like to know is can i carry on doing thayamum? Even though i have been told that it will never completely go away.
Assalamualikum wa rahmatullahiw a baraktu,
I pray insh’Allah you and your family are in good health and spirits.
Eczema is a painful skin aliment and alhamdulillah there are options for treatments so I would urge you to seek multiple opinions for how best to treat it.
In terms of wudu, the Shariah makes a distinction between slight and undue/excessive difficulty. A slight difficulty is what is bearable on average in a similar situation and is a natural part of taklif (being made responsible to Allah). An undue difficulty is that which is NOT bearable on average. In cases of undue difficulty the Shariah rulings expand to give options such that the difficulty is repealed and the person finds ease in carrying out their responsibilities.
Go through the following questions/steps to determine how you should make your wudu.
1. Can I wash the limbs in wudu without harming myself or making my illness worse or more prolonged? If yes, then make wudu normally. If no, go to next option.
2. If I wipe with a damp hand the areas affected, can I wash the rest of the limbs of wudu without hardship or harm? If yes, the wash what you can and wipe with a damp hand affected areas. If no, then go on.
3. If I cannot even wipe the affected areas but can wash other limbs, then do that. Meaning, wash the areas you can and leave alone those that are harmed by water. If this is not possible, then go on.
4. If I cannot wash/wipe any of the limbs of wudu, then you will make tayammum.
If you are doing any of the options 2-4, you can continue to do so until you condition clears up such that you are able to do option 1.
Finally, remember Allah Most High states, “Allah desires ease for you, and desires not hardship for you” (2:185) and “Allah will grant, after hardship, ease (65:7) “And, behold, with every hardship comes ease; verily, with every hardship comes ease!” (94:5-6)
And The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
‘Verily the religion is ease, and none shall make the religion hard except that it will defeat him. So be moderate, do as best you can, be of good cheer, and seek help in the mornings, the afternoons and something of the night.’ (Bukhari, 1.16:39)
May Allah ease your difficulties, grant you a full and swift recovery and increase you in all that is good.
Wassalamualikum,
Noura Shamma
Approved by Faraz Rabbani