Short answer
You cannot pray janazah without purity. But in the Hanafi school, if you are not the dead person's guardian and fear the prayer will be over while you make wudu, you may do tayammum and join, even with water nearby. The other three schools require wudu when water is available.
The janazah prayer needs taharah like any prayer. Tayammum with water present is allowed for someone who is not the wali and fears missing the whole janazah, because it cannot be made up. The same applies to the Eid prayer.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Tayammum is not valid when water is available, even if the janazah will be missed.
- Maliki
- Tayammum is not valid for a healthy resident with water available, even for the janazah.
- Hanbali
- Not allowed in the relied-upon view, though a narration from Imam Ahmad permits it.
Explanation
You arrive at the mosque as the imam says the first takbir of the janazah, and you have no wudu. The wudu area is far or crowded. Do you miss the prayer?
First, purity is required. The janazah is a prayer, so it needs wudu, a clean body and clothes, and facing the qiblah. The Prophet ﷺ said that the prayer of one who has broken his wudu is not accepted until he makes wudu. Praying it with no purity at all is not valid.
The Hanafi allowance. A janazah cannot be made up once it is over, since the Hanafi school does not repeat it or pray it in absentia. So Hanafi scholars allow tayammum (dry ablution) for someone who fears missing it entirely, even with water nearby. This is reported from Ibn Abbas among the Companions.
- You are not the guardian (wali) of the dead person or the one with the right to lead. The janazah waits for them, so they must make wudu.
- You truly fear that by the time you finish wudu the prayer will be over.
- You perform tayammum properly: strike clean earth or a stone surface, wipe the face, strike again, and wipe the arms to the elbows.
That tayammum is only for this janazah; for your next fard prayer you need wudu. If you could make wudu and still catch the last takbir, make wudu. If you miss the prayer, make dua for the person; see janazah in absentia. For the steps, see how to pray janazah and how to make wudu.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:6
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ فَٱغْسِلُوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْمَرَافِقِ وَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى ٱلْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًۭا فَٱطَّهَّرُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌۭ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءًۭ فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًۭا طَيِّبًۭا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍۢ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿٦﴾
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 janabah, 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 women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah 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.
Tayammum with clean earth replaces wudu when it is excused.
Sahih al-Bukhari 135
Sahih... لا تقبل صلاة من أحدث حتى يتوضأ ...
"The prayer of one who has broken his wudu is not accepted until he makes wudu."
The janazah, as a prayer, needs purity.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharah, Bab al-Tayammum. Tayammum for the janazah and Eid prayer when one fears missing them.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Bab al-Tayammum. The condition that the one making tayammum is not the wali.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Bab al-Tayammum. The Shafi'i view that tayammum is invalid with water available.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.