His statement, “from ritual impurity,” means that she purified herself from ritual impurity. This differs from the case where she renewed her ablution, used the water privately to wash impurity from her garment, or to cleanse herself after relieving herself; in such cases, it does lift a man’s ritual impurity, because she did not use it privately for purification from ritual impurity.

This is the ruling on the issue according to the school.

The correct view, however, is that the prohibition mentioned in the hadith is not one of strict prohibition, but rather one indicating what is preferable and mildly disliked. This is evidenced by the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): One of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ bathed in a large bowl, then the Prophet ﷺ came to bathe from it. She said, “I was in a state of major ritual impurity.” He replied, “Water does not become ritually impure.” (1) This is an authentic hadith.

There is also a rationale here: the statement that water does not become ritually impure means that if she bathed from it to remove major ritual impurity, the water remains in its state of purifying purity.

Thus, the correct view is that if a man purifies himself with water that a woman has used privately, his purification is valid and his ritual impurity is lifted. This was the view preferred by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (2).

“And if its color, taste, or smell changes …”

His statement, “And if its color, taste, or smell changes,” this is the category