3 – Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Water is not rendered impure by anything—except that which overcomes its smell, its taste, and its color.” Recorded by Ibn Mājah, and deemed weak by Abū Ḥātim. Al-Bayhaqī narrates it with the wording: “Water is purifying unless its smell, taste, or color changes because of an impurity that falls into it.” ⦗1⦘

Grade of the ḥadīth
The opening clause of the narration is authentic, whereas its concluding clause is weak; Abū Ḥātim ruled it weak, as cited in al-Talkhīṣ (1/21). The statement “Water is not rendered impure by anything” is firmly established in the ḥadīth of the Well of Budāʿah. Regarding the addition “except that which overcomes …,” al-Nawawī said that the ḥadīth scholars unanimously grade it weak because its chain contains Rashdīn ibn Saʿd, whose weakness is agreed upon. Nonetheless, Ibn Ḥibbān in his Ṣaḥīḥ related unanimous agreement on acting upon its meaning. Shaykh Ṣiddīq Ḥasan likewise notes in al-Rawḍah that although the scholars concur on the weakness of this extra clause, they also concur on the ruling it conveys.

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
• ṭahūr: water suitable for ritual purification—pure in itself and purifying for others.
• mā: an unspecified relative, meaning “anything,” or a relative pronoun, “that which.”
• ghalaba (overcame): to prevail or predominate; here it means that the smell, taste, or color of the impurity overtakes that of the water, even if only in one of these attributes, as clarified by al-Bayhaqī’s wording.