The Ruling on Pure Water Into Which Impurity Has Fallen

Question: What is the ruling when something impure mixes with water that is originally pure and purifying?

Answer: The point unanimously agreed upon by the scholars is that if the impurity alters any one of the water’s three qualities—its taste, colour, or smell—the water becomes impure; this is the consensus of the scholars.

If, however, impurity falls into the water and no change occurs, then the ruling differs according to the amount of water.
• If the quantity is large—more than two qullahs (roughly 190 litres)—the water remains pure and purifying by consensus.
• If it is less than two qullahs, the matter is disputed. The more cautious position is to avoid using it, based on the Prophet’s – peace and blessings be upon him – statement: “When water reaches two qullahs it does not carry impurity.” The implicit meaning is that water below two qullahs does carry impurity and is affected by it. Hence, as a precaution one should leave it aside when the amount is small and impurity has fallen into it, even if none of its qualities has changed, in order to exit the area of scholarly disagreement.

But when the water is more than two qullahs and none of its qualities has changed, it remains pure and purifying.

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Excessive Strictness in Matters of Purification

Question: Near our home there is a pool of water from which we drink and from which we fill leather water-skins to take home. Some water leaks from the spot where we fill the skins and from which we also drink or perform ablution; it trickles onto the ground, and at times dogs come and drink from it,