Some of the brothers go out to the wilderness for recreation and do not take with them any water other than what is sufficient for drinking only, and they perform tayammum when the time for prayer arrives on the pretext

The questioner : Your Eminence, may Allah guide you. Some of the noble people of religion go out to the wilderness for recreation and do not take with them any water other than what is sufficient for food and drink, and they perform tayammum for prayer on the pretext that there is leeway in that and it is better for them. What is the ruling on that?

The Shaykh : Yes.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
It is obligatory for a person to fear Allah the Exalted in himself and to purify himself with water, whether for wudu' or for ghusl from janabah. However, if water is difficult for him, either because it is far away or because it is heavy to carry, there is no blame on him for performing tayammum, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: So, these people are to be looked into: if the cars they have are small and cannot carry water, there is nothing wrong with them performing tayammum if it is a recreation trip. But if the matter is easy for them, and they have a small van that follows them, it is obligatory for them to do this, meaning to carry water so that they can purify themselves with it.