The First Type – Pure and Purifying Water (al-maʼ al-tahur or al-maʼ al-mutlaq)
This is water that is pure in itself and can purify others. It includes rainwater, water from rivers, wells, springs, seas, snow, and hail. It stays pure and purifying as long as its original state remains unchanged in colour, taste, or smell.
If the change comes from something pure and hard to avoid, like soil, tree leaves, salt, or water plants, and the water remains flowing and is not cooked or overpowered, then it is still pure and purifying.
The scholars agreed that this type of water is used for wudu and ghusl. Allah said, “And We sent down from the sky pure water,” and “to purify you with it.” The Prophet also said, “Its water is purifying” about sea water. He also said, “Water is purifying. Nothing makes it impure except what changes its smell, taste, or colour.”
Two Important Points Regarding Pure and Purifying Water
Changes That Do Not Affect Its Purifying Nature
If water changes slightly due to being left in one place for a long time or due to contact with things that do not dissolve in it, like sticks, oils, or incense, it remains pure and purifying. The same applies to green scum, soil, and minerals like sulphur or salt.
Each madhhab gave its details:
- Hanafis: Water that changes due to mixing with pure solids like leaves, soap, or milk remains purifying as long as the water is still flowing and not dominated or cooked.
- Malikis: Changes from things born in water like worms, or by nearby substances like tar or straw, do not harm. Tanned containers do not affect the water even if some traces remain.
- Shafiʿis: Slight changes by pure substances that don’t remove the name “water” are allowed. Water that changes by things difficult to avoid like green scum, soil, or sulphur remains purifying.
- Hanbalis: Same as the Shafiʿis. They allow changes caused by things like salt or materials at the water source, as these are hard to avoid.
There is agreement that water changed only by adjacency (e.g., the smell of a nearby dead animal) remains pure and purifying.
Pure and Purifying Water That Is Disliked to Use Out of Caution According to the Hanafis
Water left over by animals like cats, chickens, birds of prey, or mice is pure and purifying but disliked to use when other water is available. This is because these animals are not careful to avoid impurity. However, it is allowed, especially with cats, as the Prophet said about them: “It is not impure, it is from those who go around among you.” He even allowed wudu with leftover water that a cat drank from.
The Second Type – Water That Is Pure but Not Purifying (al-maʼ al-tahir ghayr al-tahur)
This type of water can remove physical impurity (najasah), but not ritual impurity (hadath). It includes water that mixed with a pure substance which changed one of its three attributes (taste, colour, or smell).
- Hanafis: If a substance dominates the water or the water is cooked with things like lentils or chickpeas and no longer flows normally, it loses its purifying nature. Liquids like rose water or vinegar, if they dominate the water, also make it non-purifying. Unclear cases like water drunk by mules or donkeys are doubtful. One may use it for wudu if no other water is found and also perform tayammum.
- Malikis: Water becomes non-purifying if a pure substance that usually separates from water, like soap or milk, changes one of its attributes. This also includes tar not used for tanning and dead fish. Slight changes from tanning agents do not harm.
- Shafiʿis: If a pure substance not needed by the water changes its name or one of its attributes to the point that the name “water” no longer applies, it is no longer purifying. Even imagined changes are treated the same.
- Hanbalis: Water mixed with things like saffron, soap, or mineral salts is not purifying if it changes in a way that gives it a new name or attribute. Whether cooked or not, if the change is strong, wudu is not valid with it.
Used Water for Ritual Purification (al-maʼ al-mustaʿmal)
This is water that has touched the body while doing wudu or ghusl and then separates from the limb, especially in small amounts. Scholars agreed it is pure, but they differed on whether it can purify others.
- Hanafis: If used water falls back into the container in large amounts, it is disliked or invalid to use it for purification. Water becomes used only when one intends to remove impurity, and only after it separates from the body.
- Shafiʿis: Water becomes used if it is small and was used for an obligatory purification act. Water from second and third washes is still purifying. Water becomes used even in symbolic cases like a child’s wudu. Water is not considered used if one dips to scoop. Water used in symbolic acts or for other purposes like cooling remains pure and purifying.
- Hanbalis: They agreed with the above views. Water becomes used when it removes impurity, whether it is wudu or ghusl, or even when washing the dead. The final (seventh) wash in removing impurity is used water. Early washes are still pure.
Water used in recommended acts is either treated like water used to remove impurity or remains purifying. The stronger view is that it remains purifying if not used to remove something that breaks prayer.
If used water does not change in attributes and is less than two qullahs, it is not considered purifying unless there is strong need.
The Second Category – Water That Was Purifying Then Impurity Fell Into It and Changed One of Its Attributes
If impurity falls into water and changes its taste, smell, or colour, then it becomes impure by agreement.
- Shafiʿis and Hanbalis: Agreed on impurity if one of the attributes changes. Small insects without flowing blood like flies do not make water impure if they fall in on their own.
- Malikis: Say that small amounts of water with impurity that does not change the attributes remain purifying but are disliked to use, out of caution.
Most jurists agree impure water cannot be used for purification unless in necessity, like watering animals or in extreme need.
The Distinction Between a Small and Large Amount of Water
- Abu Hanifah: Large water is what, if moved at one end, is not seen at the other. Small water is less than ten by ten cubits.
- Malikis: Did not define a fixed amount. Small water is what fits in a typical vessel used for wudu or ghusl. If even a drop of impurity falls in, it becomes disliked to use for purification.
- Shafiʿis and Hanbalis: Small water is anything less than two qullahs (about 500 Iraqi ratls). If impurity falls into two qullahs of water and does not change any of its attributes, it stays pure and purifying. If it changes even slightly, it becomes impure by agreement.
The hadith of two qullahs was narrated by trustworthy companions and explained to mean water does not carry impurity unless changed.
Translation: The First Type – Pure and Purifying Water (Al-maʼ al-tahur or al-maʼ al-mutlaq):
This is the water that is pure in itself and purifies other things. It includes all water that descends from the sky or springs from the earth, as long as it remains in the state in which it was originally created and none of its three attributes have changed, which are its colour, taste, and smell. If it changes due to something that does not remove its purifying status, such as pure soil or salt or a water plant, and it has not been used before, then it still remains pure and purifying. Examples of such water include rainwater, water from valleys, springs, wells, rivers, seas, snow, hail, and similar sources of either fresh or salty water. It also includes water that solidifies into the shape of a living being, or solidifies as salt, or becomes steam or vapour, because it remains water in reality.
However, the Hanafis said that water in which salt forms naturally is pure and purifying before the salt forms, but after the salt forms and dissolves, it becomes pure but not purifying. Therefore, it cannot remove ritual impurity, although it can remove physical impurity.
This pure and purifying water is agreed upon by all, and impurity is removed with it. It is also used for wudu and ghusl, due to the saying of Allah: “And We sent down from the sky pure water” and His saying: “And He sends down upon you from the sky water to purify you with it” and the Prophet’s words about sea water: “Its water is purifying, its dead are lawful to eat” (It was narrated by seven of the Companions: Abu Hurayrah, Jabir ibn Abd Allah, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Anas ibn Malik, Abd Allah ibn Amr, al-Farasi, and Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. The narration of Abu Hurayrah was reported by the four Sunan authors. Though some defects were mentioned in it, they are supported by the other narrations (Nasb al-Rayah 1/15)and his saying: “Indeed, water is purifying Nothing makes it impure except that which overcomes its smell, taste, or colour.” (It was narrated by Ibn Majah from Abu Umamah. It is a weak narration (Nasb al-Rayah 1/14) but was declared sound by al-Tirmidhi, and it has a sound chain reported by Ibn al-Qattan. Imam Ahmad said: It is a sound hadith.)
Two Important Points Regarding Pure and Purifying Water:
A – Changes That Do Not Affect Its Purifying Nature:
The jurists agreed that anything that often mixes with water and is hard to avoid does not remove its purity and purifying status. Therefore, the change of all or some of its attributes due to remaining in place for a long time does not harm, nor does change caused by pure soil, green scum (which appears on the surface of water), things found at the source of the water or its pathway, or contact with things that do not dissolve in the water like sticks and oils even if they are perfumed, or incense.
Nor does it matter if a carcass is lying on the shore and its smell affects the water, or if the container was tanned with things like tar or alum, or if minerals like water salt or sulphur mix with it, or if things hard to avoid like figs or tree leaves fall in.
The jurists gave details and added conditions:
The Hanafis said that purification is allowed with water that is mixed with a solid, pure substance, as long as the change was not due to cooking and as long as it did not alter one or all of the water’s attributes. An example is rainwater that mixes with dirt, leaves, or tree branches, and still remains flowing and fluid. If the mud becomes dominant, then purification is not allowed.
The same applies to water that is mixed with milk, saffron, soap, or potash as long as it remains fluid and flowing, because the name “water” still applies to it and it is hard to avoid these substances. But if the water changes in nature or is given a new name, such as soapy water becoming thick or saffron water becoming a dye, then purification is not allowed with it.(Fath al-Qadir 1/48, Lubab Sharh al-Kitab 1/136, Maraqi al-Falah p. 102)
The Malikis said that changes caused by remaining in place for a long time, or by what flows through it, or by things born within it such as green scum, worms, or live fish do not harm. Nor does it matter if it is changed by contact with things that are usually nearby, or by adjacency. Nor does it matter if it is changed by soil that was thrown into it, according to the well-known position, or by salt or other elements of the earth such as copper, sulphur, and iron, even if placed in intentionally.
Nor does it matter if it is changed by a pure tanning agent like tar. Nor does it matter if it is changed by things hard to avoid like straw or tree leaves that fall into wells and ponds due to wind. If skins that are meant to carry water, like leather bags and buckets, are tanned, then water taken from them is usable even if it changes due to traces of the tanning agent like bark powder, tar, or alum.
Light changes caused by drawing tools like rope or container, or the effect of incense placed in the container without tanning, or that sinks into the water and changes it, do not affect the ruling. This is because the Arabs often used tar when drawing water and in other contexts, so it became similar to natural changes due to the container. (al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/260, al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah p. 20, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/22, al-Sharh al-Kabir)
Doubt regarding the identity of what caused the change does not harm, whether it was something harmful like honey or blood, or harmless like sulphur or long storage. One may purify oneself with it.
Also, it does not harm if there is doubt whether the change happened due to saliva, such as water placed in the mouth and one is unsure if it changed due to saliva. In this case, purification is allowed.
Change of one of the three attributes by something that usually separates from the water does harm, even if it is pure, such as milk, butter, honey, or grass. If it mixes with or sticks to the water, such as flowers laid on the surface or oil attached to it, and changes one of the attributes of the water, then purification is not allowed. The water becomes pure in itself but does not purify others.
Summary: If pure water is mixed with a pure substance that does not change its colour, taste, or smell, then it remains pure and purifying.
But if it changes one of these three, then according to the Malikis, Shafiʿis, and Hanbalis, it is pure but not purifying. As for the Hanafis, it remains pure and purifying unless it was cooked or the foreign substance dominates it.
The Malikis consider all parts of the earth, like sulphur, iron, and copper, to be like soil. These do not remove the purifying nature of water even if they change one of its attributes, even if intentionally placed.
The Shafiʿis said that a slight change caused by a pure substance that does not take away the name “water” does not harm, even if there is doubt whether the change is great or small, due to the difficulty of avoiding it.
Changes due to remaining in place for long do not harm, even if severe, nor do changes caused by mud or green scum (which forms due to long stay), or things at the water source or along its path like sulphur, arsenic, or lime, due to the difficulty of avoiding them. A change caused by water salt is not harmful, but mountain salt is. Its effect is harmful unless the salt was originally water, in which case it is like melted snow.
Changes caused by crushed or scattered tree leaves do not harm, nor does a change caused by a neighbouring pure substance like a stick or oil, even if perfumed, or solid camphor. Nor does a change caused by soil, even if used, that was thrown into it, according to the more correct view. This is because the change caused by anything other than soil is due to smell, while soil causes turbidity which does not remove the name “water.”
The Hanbalis hold the same view as the Shafiʿis in not being affected by changes due to long presence in one place (which is called stagnant water that has changed due to long stay), or due to the source or the route, or adjacency, or due to the smell of a dead animal lying nearby. These things are hard to avoid.
Or due to marine or water salt that solidifies into salt due to spreading over saline lands, because this kind of salt comes originally from water, like melted snow.
Summary: Water that has changed but is still valid for purification falls into four types:
- Water connected to its source or origin, like river and well water and similar.
- Water affected by things hard to avoid, like green scum, thorns, or anything that grows in the water, or tree leaves falling in, or carried by the wind, or floodwater carrying sticks, figs, and so on. Also, things settled at the bottom of the water like sulphur or tar, if water runs over them and changes, or if they are part of the ground that holds the water.
- Water that is affected by something that shares its attributes of purity and ability to purify, like soil. If it changes the water, it does not remove its purifying status because soil is pure and purifying like water. But if the water becomes so thick that it cannot flow over the body, purification is not allowed because it is now mud, not water. There is no difference between whether the soil entered the water intentionally or not. The same applies to sea salt, water salt, and mineral salt. The latter is a foreign mixture that is not originally water, so it is like saffron or similar substances.
- Water that is changed due to proximity without actual mixing, such as oil of various kinds. The same applies to tar, pitch, wax, and solid pure substances like sticks, camphor, and amber, if they do not dissolve in the water and do not break apart in it. This change is due to adjacency, like if the water is affected by the smell of something placed beside it. There is no disagreement on this.
There is also no disagreement among the scholars that it is permissible to make wudu with water that has been touched by a pure substance but was not changed by it. So, if something like broad beans, chickpeas, roses, or saffron falls into the water in small amounts and does not give it a noticeable taste, colour, or smell, then it is valid to make wudu with it. The Prophet and his wife made ghusl from a large vessel that had traces of dough in it.
B – Pure and Purifying Water That Is Disliked to Use Out of Caution According to the Hanafis:
There is a type of water that is pure and purifying but disliked to use when other water is available. This is, according to the sound view among the Hanafis, small amounts of water that an animal like a domestic cat drank from, but not a wild cat, as the latter’s leftover is impure. The same applies to a chicken that roams freely and eats filth, birds of prey, snakes, and mice, because these animals are not careful to avoid impurity This is based on legal preference and to make things easy for people due to their constant contact with cats and because birds of prey cannot be easily avoided. The Prophet approved of using leftover water from cats, saying: “It is not impure, it is from those who go around among you and mix with you.” Aisha narrated that the Prophet used to bring the container close to a cat so it could drink from it, then he would make wudu with what remained. (Narrated by the five from Kabshah bint Kaʿb ibn Malik. Al-Tirmidhi said: It is a sound and authentic hadith. Also reported by al-Bayhaqi and authenticated by al-Bukhari, al-ʿAqili, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban, al-Hakim, and al-Daraqutni (Nayl al-Awtar 1/25).
The Second Type – Water That Is Pure but Not Purifying (al-maʼ al-tahir ghayr al-tahur):
According to the Hanafis, this type of water removes physical impurity (najasah) from clothing and the body, but it does not remove ritual impurity (hadath). Therefore, wudu and ghusl are not valid with it. It is divided into three categories:
The First Category: Water mixed with a pure substance that changes one of its three attributes and removes its purifying ability. According to the Hanafis, what removes the purifying status from water is the dominance of a substance other than water, whether it is a solid or a liquid. In solids, dominance is determined by the removal of the water’s natural properties, such as its fluidity and ability to nourish and penetrate, or its nature being changed through cooking with things like chickpeas or lentils, and when not intended for cleansing, such as soap and potash.
This is because the Prophet performed ghusl using water that had traces of dough, and he used to perform ghusl while in a state of janabah and would wash his head with sidr (leaves that are crushed and used to wash the head). The Prophet also commanded the one who was crushed by his camel while in ihram to be washed with water and sidr, and he commanded Qays ibn Asim when he embraced Islam to perform ghusl with water and sidr. (Maraqi al-Falah p. 3–4, Fath al-Qadir 1/48 and onwards, Nasb al-Rayah 1/104, Nayl al-Awtar 1/221. The first narration was reported by al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and al-Athram. The second was reported by Ahmad from Aisha.)
In liquids that have no distinct attributes, like used water or rose water whose scent has faded, the dominance is either due to heavier weight, such as when two ratls of used water mix with one ratl of pure water, or due to the appearance of two attributes out of the three (colour, taste, and smell) of the mixing liquid, like vinegar, which has all three attributes. If any two of these become apparent, then wudu is not valid. One attribute alone does not harm if it is light. Similarly, if one attribute of a liquid that only has two attributes appears, like milk (which has colour and taste but no smell), then it is considered dominant.
Water of Uncertain Purifying Status according to the Hanafis is water from which a donkey or a mule has drunk. Such water is pure in itself, but there is doubt about its ability to remove ritual impurity. If one finds no other water, they may use it for wudu and perform tayammum due to the conflicting evidence about its permissibility or prohibition, or due to the disagreement of the Companions about whether it is pure or impure. (Fath al-Qadir and al-Hidayah 1/78.)
The Malikis said: What removes the purifying status from water, so that it neither removes ritual impurity nor physical impurity, is any pure substance that usually separates from water, changes one of its attributes (colour, taste, or smell), and is not from the earth, or used to tan its container, or something hard to avoid.
An example of a substance that usually separates from water includes soap, rose water, saffron, milk, honey, raisins soaked in water, lemon, animal droppings, smoke of burnt things, grass, tree leaves, or straw that falls into a well that is easy to cover.
Also included is tar that settles in water but was not used for tanning the container, cooked green scum, and dead fish. If any of these change one of the water’s attributes, it becomes pure but not purifying. Likewise, if water is excessively changed by a water-drawing tool or container that is not made from parts of the earth, like a leather or wooden container, or a rope made of linen or palm fibre, then it loses its purifying status.
If the change is slight or is due to tar used for tanning, then it does not remove the purifying status and causes no harm. (Al-Sharh al-Kabir 1/37 and onwards, al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/21, al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah p. 30 and onwards, Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/120.)
The Shafiʿis said: What removes the purifying status of water, making it invalid for removing ritual or physical impurity, is any pure substance that the water does not need, if it changes one of the water’s attributes (colour, taste, or smell) to a degree that prevents the name “water” from being applied to it. This excludes earth or water salt, even if they were added intentionally. Examples include saffron, tree sap, semen, mountain salt, dates, flour, green scum thrown into water, things soaked in water like linen or liquorice, tar not used for tanning, and water mixed with sidr or soap. Wudu is not valid with such water, as with water from boiled meat or broad beans.
Whether the change is physically observed or only imagined, it makes no difference. If a liquid that shares the same attributes as water, like rose water whose scent is gone, falls into water and does not visibly change it, but if we imagine that the rose water turns into something else like the colour of juice, the taste of pomegranate, and the smell of a certain resin, and this changes the water, it would not remain purifying. (Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/18, al-Muhadhdhab 1/50.)
The Hanbalis said: What removes the purifying status of water includes several types, such as water extracted by treatment, like rose water, flower water, and watermelon water, if their substances dominate the water. Also included is a pure substance that changes the name of the water to something else, such as becoming a dye or vinegar, or a pure substance that changes one of the water’s attributes significantly, whether it was cooked in the water like broad beans or chickpeas, or was not cooked, such as saffron or mineral salt, or was added intentionally by a rational adult such as green scum or tree leaves. In all these cases, the water is no longer considered pure water, and wudu is not valid with it. (Al-Mughni 1/14 and onwards, Kashshaf al-Qinaʿ 1/20.)
Used Water for Ritual Purification (al-maʼ al-mustaʿmal)
This refers to water that has fallen from the limbs or remained on them, or has separated from them in a small amount, or has been stirred within the container. If water is taken from the container and the limbs are washed outside it, it is not considered used. Used water is pure and purifying, and its reuse is not disliked according to the stronger opinion, especially when removing physical impurity or washing vessels. However, it is disliked to use it for removing ritual impurity or for recommended washes when other water is available and the amount is small. The reason for the dislike is that people naturally find it unpleasant. (1) This excludes soil, so repeating tayammum with the same soil is not disliked, since it does not stick to the limbs. (2) Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/20 and onwards, 85, al-Muhadhdhab 1/805.
Used water according to the Shafiʿis is small water used in an obligatory act of purification from ritual impurity, like the first washing. According to the new position, water from the second and third washing that transfers purification is still purifying. The condition of it being obligatory applies even when the purification is symbolic, like in a child’s wudu, since a child’s prayer requires wudu to be valid.
Among used water is a small amount taken from a container without intending to scoop it for washing the hands outside the container. If one intended to scoop it for washing, then it is still purifying.
Also considered used is water used for washing in place of wiping, such as the head or socks, water used to wash a disbelieving woman to make her lawful for a Muslim husband, water used to wash the dead, and water used to wash an insane woman to make her lawful for her Muslim husband. Water is not considered used unless it separates from the limb.
Used water for removing physical impurity (wash water) must meet three conditions:
- The water must be poured over the place of impurity if the amount is small, according to the stronger opinion, and not already present on it. If the impurity were placed in the water, the water would become impure as soon as the impurity touches it.
- The water must separate in a pure state without any change in its attributes and the place of impurity must be visibly clean.
- The weight of the water should not increase after accounting for what the garment absorbs and what it releases of visible filth. If the water changes, increases in weight, or the place is not purified, such as colour and smell of impurity remaining, or taste alone and its removal is not difficult, this indicates the impurity remains.
The ruling of used water in the new Shafiʿi school is that it is pure but not purifying, so it cannot be used for wudu or ghusl, nor for removing impurity. This is because the righteous early generations did not take precautions against such water or its drops falling on them. It is reported in the two authentic books that the Prophet visited Jabir during his final illness, performed wudu, and poured some of his wudu water on him. Despite having little water, they never collected used water for reuse. Rather, they would switch to tayammum and would not even collect it for drinking, as it was considered distasteful.
A small amount of used water falling into water is excused. If the used water is collected and reaches the amount of two qullahs, then it is considered purifying according to the stronger opinion.
The Hanbalis define used water as that which was used for removing a major impurity (janabah) or a minor one (wudu), or used to remove physical impurity in the final wash which removed the impurity, which is usually the seventh wash, and none of the water’s attributes (colour, taste, or smell) changed. Also included in used water is the water used to wash the dead, because it is a form of devotional washing, not for impurity. (Kashshaf al-Qinaʿ 1/21–37, al-Mughni 1/15 and onwards, 18–124/22, the fourth wash is considered pure in wudu. The eighth wash after impurity is removed is considered pure by the Hanbalis.)
When Water Becomes Used (al-maʼ al-mustaʿmal):
Water becomes used if a person in a state of major or minor impurity intends to remove that impurity using a small amount of water. However, if the person does not intend to remove impurity, or intends something else like scooping, removing dust, cooling down, or merely playing, then the water remains pure and purifying.
Also included in this is a small amount of water in which a person who has woken from night sleep washes or dips his hand, if the person is a Muslim, sane, and mature, and the dipping occurs before washing the hand three times. Also included is water into which a Muslim adult who is sane (not a child, insane person, or disbeliever) dips his entire hand up to the wrist. But if he dips a part other than the hand, like the face or foot, the water does not become used.
Water does not become used until it separates from the body part it was used on. A small amount of used water that falls into a container is excused, because the Prophet and his companions used to make wudu from small vessels, and he and Aisha performed ghusl from a single container, with their hands alternating in it, each saying to the other, “Leave some for me.” In such a case, it is impossible to avoid droplets falling into the water.
If a large amount falls in and becomes excessive, then purification is not allowed with it according to the stronger opinion. This is also the position of the Shafiʿis as mentioned earlier.
As for water used in recommended acts of purification, such as renewing wudu, the second and third washings in wudu, and ghusl for Friday or Eid, there are two opinions. One says it is like the water used to remove impurity, because it is a prescribed purification.
The second, and more reliable, view is that it remains pure and purifying, and does not prevent purification, because it was not used to remove something that invalidates prayer. It is like water used for cooling down. There is no disagreement among the scholars that water used for cooling or for cleaning is pure and purifying and not disliked.
A small amount of water does not become used if someone scoops from it to wash their hands, because the intention behind dipping the hand was to scoop, not to wash. Also, the Prophet, peace be upon him, did this as reported by Saʿid from ʿUthman: he scooped water with his right hand, then poured it over his right arm, running it up to the elbows three times.
The ruling on used water is that it neither removes ritual impurity nor physical impurity, as is also the case according to the Shafiʿis.
The Second Category – Water That Was Purifying Then Impurity Fell Into It and Changed One of Its Attributes:
The scholars agreed that this type of water becomes impure once one of its attributes (taste, colour, or smell) is changed. The Shafiʿis and Hanbalis also agree with the Hanafis on the impurity of the first category of water, except for what is excused by the Shafiʿis, like the corpse of an animal that does not have flowing blood, such as a fly or bee, if it falls in by itself or is blown in by the wind.
The Malikis, in the most reliable opinion, say that the first type (a small amount of water into which impurity has fallen without changing any of its attributes) remains purifying but is disliked to use out of respect for the disagreement. (Al-Sharh al-Kabir with al-Dasuqi 1/37 and onwards, 420; al-Sharh al-Saghir 1/21, 26 and onwards; al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah p. 20; Bidayat al-Mujtahid 1/23; al-Hanbali 1/5; Mughni al-Muhtaj 1/21 and onwards; al-Mughni 1/22–27; Ghayat al-Muntaha 1/1 and onwards; Kashshaf al-Qinaʿ 1/27, 39–42, 44 and onwards.)
According to most jurists, impure water (al-mutanajjis) cannot be used for purification or anything else, except in cases such as watering animals or crops, or in extreme need such as thirst.
The Distinction Between a Small and Large Amount of Water:
The jurists differed on what defines “small” and “large” quantities of water. According to Abu Hanifah, a large amount of water is that which, if a person stirs one end of it, the motion is not seen at the other end. A small amount is less than ten by ten of the common cubits, as previously mentioned.
The Malikis did not specify any particular measure for the definition of “large.” Water that is small and disliked to use is what equals or is less than the size of a typical vessel used for wudu or ghusl. If a small amount of impurity, like a single drop, falls into it and does not change it, then it is disliked to use it for removing ritual or physical impurity, or for any purification that depends on purity, like recommended acts. However, there is no dislike in using it for regular customary purposes. (Fath al-Qadir 1/55.)
The Shafiʿis and Hanbalis defined the distinction between small and large amounts of water as two qullahs. A qullah (jar) is one of the large jars of Hajar, and it equals five containers, each holding one hundred Iraqi ratls, so two qullahs equal five hundred Iraqi ratls.
If the water reaches two qullahs, and impurity falls into it, whether solid or liquid, but does not change its taste, colour, or smell, then it remains pure and purifying. This is based on the hadith: “If the water reaches two qullahs, it does not carry impurity.” (Nasb al-Rayah 1/14.)
Al-Hakim said it is according to the conditions of al-Bukhari and Muslim. In another narration from Abu Dawud and others with a sound chain: “It does not become impure.” This is what is meant by the phrase “it does not carry impurity,” meaning it repels impurity and does not accept it.
If impurity falls into a large amount of liquid other than water, even if it reaches two qullahs, then it becomes impure just by contact, because it is difficult to keep such a liquid clean from impurity, unlike water, even if in large amounts.
If one of the attributes of a large amount of water (equal to two qullahs) changes, even slightly, then it is impure by consensus, which specifies the hadith of the two qullahs.
The hadith of al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban also says: “Nothing makes water impure,” but Ibn al-Mundhir said: The scholars agreed that if impurity falls into either a small or large amount of water and changes its taste, colour, or smell, then it is impure as long as the change remains.
Abu Umamah al-Bahili narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “Water is purifying. Nothing makes it impure except what overcomes its smell, taste, or colour.” This was narrated by Ibn Majah, but it is a weak hadith. (al-Qullah is a jar. It is called qullah because it is lifted by the hands, See Nasb al-Rayah 1/95. Ibn Hibban said: This is specified by the hadith of the two qullahs, and both this and the following hadith are specified by consensus that water which is changed by impurity becomes impure, whether it is a little or a lot)
Fiqh Islam wa Adillatuhu (1/113-127)
