He was asked about frequently recurring issues that people face, in which following the opinion of one particular imam entails hardship and distress. These include small quantities of water into which impurities fall without altering them, and water altered by pure substances.

He replied—may Allah Most High have mercy on him:

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds.

As for water, whether in small or large quantities, that is altered by pure substances—such as ushnān (a cleansing shrub), soap, lote leaves, khatmī (a cleansing plant), earth, dough, and other things that may alter water—there are two well-known scholarly opinions concerning it, provided it can still be called water. An example is a vessel containing traces of lote leaves or khatmī into which water is poured and consequently altered.

The first opinion is that it may not be used for ritual purification. This is the position of Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī, and one of the two positions reported from Ahmad, adopted by al-Khiraqī, al-Qādī, and most of Ahmad’s later followers. Their reasoning is that this is not water in the unrestricted sense, and therefore does not fall within the words of Allah Most High:

“and find no water”.

Those who hold this opinion nevertheless make exceptions for several kinds of water, agreeing among themselves on some and differing over others. Water whose alteration results from its natural condition, or from something against which it is difficult to protect the water, remains pure and purifying