and its sinews, hooves, and horns are likewise pure.
If any impurity falls into a well, water must be drawn from it; drawing off the water is what purifies the well.
• Should a mouse, a sparrow, a ṣaʿwah bird, a suwādaniyyah bird, or a sāmm abraṣ (gecko) die in it, between twenty and thirty buckets are to be removed, the exact amount varying with the size of the creature.
• If a pigeon, chicken, or cat dies in it, forty to sixty buckets are to be taken out.
• If the dead creature is a dog, a sheep, or a human being, the whole of the water must be emptied.
• Likewise, if the animal has become bloated or begun to decompose, the entire contents of the well must be removed, no matter how small or large the animal.
The measure of “buckets” is reckoned by the medium-sized bucket commonly used for wells in the towns. If one draws with an unusually large bucket that holds as much as twenty of those standard buckets, it is counted accordingly.
If the well is a flowing spring whose water cannot all be drawn out, an amount of water equal to what the well contains is removed. It is related from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (d. 189 AH) that between two hundred and three hundred buckets should be taken out.
When a dead animal is found in a well (or elsewhere) and no one knows when it fell in, and it has neither swollen nor decomposed, those who performed wudu from that water must repeat the prayers of one day and one night and wash everything the water touched. If the carcass has swollen or decomposed, they must, according to Abu Ḥanīfah (d. 150 AH), repeat the prayers of three days and their nights. Abu Yūsuf and Muhammad—may Allah have mercy on them—held that nothing need be repeated unless the exact time of the fall is known.
The leftover water (suʾr) of a human being and of any animal whose flesh may be eaten is pure. The leftover water of dogs, pigs, and predatory land animals is impure. The leftover water of a cat, a free-ranging chicken, birds of prey, and house-dwelling creatures such as snakes and mice is disliked (makrūh).
The leftover water of a donkey or mule is doubtful. If no other water is available, one may perform wudu with it and also perform tayammum; whichever of the two he begins with is acceptable.