Rules of Water and its Purity: Used Water, and Impure Water, Animal Water, etc. By Imam Al-Albani

Rules of Water and its Purity: Used Water, and Impure Water, Animal Water, etc.

By Imam Al-Albāni (added narrations from Abu Khadeejah)

Allah stated:

وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ طَهُورًۭا ٤٨
لِّنُحْـِۧىَ بِهِۦ بَلْدَةًۭ مَّيْتًۭا وَنُسْقِيَهُۥ مِمَّا خَلَقْنَآ أَنْعَـٰمًۭا وَأَنَاسِىَّ كَثِيرًۭا ٤٩

“We send down pure water from the sky. That We may give life thereby to a dead land, and We give to drink thereof many of the cattle and men that We had created.” (Al-Furqan: 48-49)

Rain water, river water, and sea water are pure. Left-over water is pure: Jabir stated:

جَاءَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَعُودُنِي، وَأَنَا مَرِيضٌ لاَ أَعْقِلُ، فَتَوَضَّأَ وَصَبَّ عَلَىَّ مِنْ وَضُوئِهِ، فَعَقَلْتُ

“Allah’s Messenger came to visit me while I was sick and and unconscious (unaware of my surroundings), so he made wudoo and sprinkled (or poured) some of his water from his wudoo, and I gained consciousness.” (Ad-Darimi 1/178, and it is agreed upon: Bukhari no. 194)

In the hadeeth of the treaty of Hudaibiyah: “Whenever Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) spat, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of his companions, who would then wipe it on his face and skin, and if he commended them, they would carry his orders immediately, if he performed wudoo (ablution), they would compete with each other to take the water that remained. And when they spoke to him, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly, out of respect for him.” After seeing this, ‘Urwah returned to his people and said:

أَىْ قَوْمِ، وَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ وَفَدْتُ عَلَى الْمُلُوكِ، وَوَفَدْتُ عَلَى قَيْصَرَ وَكِسْرَى وَالنَّجَاشِيِّ وَاللَّهِ إِنْ رَأَيْتُ مَلِكًا قَطُّ، يُعَظِّمُهُ أَصْحَابُهُ مَا يُعَظِّمُ أَصْحَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم مُحَمَّدًا، وَاللَّهِ إِنْ تَنَخَّمَ نُخَامَةً إِلاَّ وَقَعَتْ فِي كَفِّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ، فَدَلَكَ بِهَا وَجْهَهُ وَجِلْدَهُ، وَإِذَا أَمَرَهُمُ ابْتَدَرُوا أَمْرَهُ وَإِذَا تَوَضَّأَ كَادُوا يَقْتَتِلُونَ عَلَى وَضُوئِهِ، وَإِذَا تَكَلَّمَ خَفَضُوا أَصْوَاتَهُمْ عِنْدَهُ، وَمَا يُحِدُّونَ إِلَيْهِ النَّظَرَ تَعْظِيمًا لَهُ، وَإِنَّهُ قَدْ عَرَضَ عَلَيْكُمْ خُطَّةَ رُشْدٍ، فَاقْبَلُوهَا

“O people! By Allah, I have been in a delegation to the kings, and to Caesar (of the Romans), Khosrau (of Persia) and An-Najashi (the king of Abyssinia), yet I have never seen any of them respected by their courtiers as much as Muhammad is respected by his companions. By Allah, if he spat, the spittle would fall in the hand of one of them (Companions) who would wipe it on his face and skin. If he commanded them, they would carry out his command immediately. If he performed ablution, they would almost fight to take the leftover water. And when they spoke to him, they would lower their voices and would not look at his face constantly out of respect for him.” (Bukhari, no. 2731, and Muslim)

Also, the hadeeth, “The Muslim does not become impure,” (Bukhari and Muslim) which shows that the Muslim’s left over water from wudoo is also not impure. And there is the hadeeth: “The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) made ghusl (bathed) from the water left over by (his wife) Maymoonah.” (Muslim)

Ibn ‘Abbās said: “One of the wives of the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) made wudoo taking water from a vessel. Then, the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) intended to make from the same water. So said to him: ‘O Allah’s Messenger! I was in a state of janabah (sexual impurity).’ He responded: ‘Water does not become impure.’” (Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Nasā’ee and others)

The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) warned from taking a bath in still water: “Let not any of you bath in standing water while he is junub (in a state of sexual impurity).” (Muslim) This is due it having uncleanness. And what is worse than that is to urinate into it: “Let not any of you urinate into standing water that is not flowing, and then bathe in it!” (Bukhari) It is said: The Prophet’s (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) prohibition of urinating into standing water does not prove that it becomes impure due to the urine itself. There is nothing in the text to indicate that – rather it only proves prohibition of the act because urine is a means to the water becoming impure (eventually) because if urinates into it, the urine may alter the water so the prohibition closes the door to that. (See Al-Fatawa of Ibn Taymiyyah 2/374)

In a narration: “Let not any of you urinate into standing water that is not flowing, and then bathe from it…” (Muslim) and in another narration: “Then make wudoo from it.” (Tirmidhi)

So, water is pure, nothing makes it impure, so long as it is not altered by impurities. That was the view of Ibn Taymiyyah in Al-Ikhtiyārāt (3) and his Majmoo’at Ar-Rasā’il (2/218).

The Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said:

إِذَا وَلَغَ الْكَلْبُ فِي إِنَاءِ أَحَدِكُمْ فَلْيُرِقْهُ ثُمَّ لْيَغْسِلْهُ سَبْعَ مِرَارٍ ‏

“If a dog licks the vessel of any one of you, let him throw its contents away and wash the vessel seven times.” (Muslim no. 279) So, the saliva of the dog is impure.

As for the cat, then it is not impure. Some hareesah (a pudding) was send to ‘A’ishah who was in prayer. She made a sign for it to be put down. Then a cat came and ate some of it. When ‘A’ishah finished her prayer, she ate from the place where the cat had eaten. She said: “The Messenger of Allah (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said:

إِنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ بِنَجَسٍ إِنَّمَا هِيَ مِنَ الطَّوَّافِينَ عَلَيْكُمْ

‘It is not unclean, it is a merely an animal who strolls round among you.’ She added: “I saw the Messenger of Allah (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) performing ablution from the water left over by the cat.” (Abu Dawood, no. 76, saheeh)

The saliva of cattle is also not impure.

Refer to Kitāb at-Tahārah published 2002/1423 of Imam Al-Albāni (died 1420 H)

Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Wāhid.