Nasai

327. Commentary: See Sunan an-Nasa'i, Hadith 53 and its benefits and issues.

Benefits and Issues
«لا يخرجه عن الوصفين إلا ما غير ريحه أو لونه او طعمه من النجاسات»
“Nothing removes water from these two qualities except only such impurity that changes its smell, color, or taste.”
❀ It is narrated from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu that it was asked of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, ‘Can we perform ablution (wudu) with the water of the well of Budā‘ah?’ (The well of Budā‘ah was an old well into which menstrual cloths, pieces of dog flesh, and foul-smelling things were thrown.) In response, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
«الْمَاءُ طَهُورٌ لَا يُنَجِّسُهُ شَيْءٌ» “Water is pure; nothing makes it impure.” [صحيح : أبوداود 66] 1
❀ It is narrated from Abu Umamah al-Bahili radi Allahu anhu that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
«إِنَّ الْمَاءَ لَا يُنَجِّسُهُ شَيْءٌ، إِلَّا مَا غَلَبَ عَلَى رِيحِهِ، وَطَعْمِهِ، وَلَوْنِهِ»
“Indeed, nothing makes water impure except when the smell, taste, or color of that impurity overcomes the water.” [ضعیف : ابن ماجه 521] 2
Hafiz Busiri rahimahullah states that due to the weakness of Rushdin, the chain of this hadith is weak. [الزوائد 170/1]
❀ In the narration of al-Bayhaqi, the wording is:
«الماء طهور إلا إن تغير ريحه أو طعمه أو لونه بنجاسة تحدث فيه»
“Water is pure except if, due to impurity falling into it, its smell, taste, or color changes.” [بيهقي 209/1] 3
In its chain as well, the narrator Rushdin bin Sa‘d is abandoned, so this hadith is also not a valid proof. [فيض القدير 383/2، نيل الاوطار 67/1]
Imam Abu Hatim rahimahullah has considered its mursal form to be authentic. [علل الحديث 44/1]
Imam al-Daraqutni rahimahullah holds that this hadith is not established. [دارقطني 29/1]
Imam al-Nawawi rahimahullah has transmitted the consensus of the hadith scholars on the weakness of this hadith. [المجموع 110/1]
Imam Ibn al-Mulaqqin rahimahullah says that the mentioned exception is weak. [البدر المنير 832]
Imam Haythami rahimahullah has also declared Rushdin bin Sa‘d to be weak. [المجمع 214/1]
(Preferred Opinion) Although the narrations containing the exception are weak, there is consensus on the correctness and applicability of their meaning and implication, as transmitted by Imam Ibn al-Mundhir, Imam al-Nawawi, Imam Ibn Qudamah, and Imam Ibn al-Mulaqqin rahimahum Allah ajma‘in. This is also the position of Ibn ‘Abbas radi Allahu anhuma, Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu, Hasan al-Basri, Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, ‘Ikrimah, Ibn Abi Layla, al-Thawri, Dawud al-Zahiri, al-Nakha‘i, Jabir ibn Zayd, Malik, al-Ghazali, al-Qasim, and Yahya rahimahum Allah ajma‘in. [والإجماع لابن المنذر 10 ص 33] 4
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1 [صحيح : صحيح أبوداود 20، كتاب الطهارة : باب ما جاء فى بئر بضاعة ' ابوداود 67، ترمذي 66، نسائي 174/1، أحمد 31/3، مسند شافعي 30، ابن الجارود 47، شرح معاني الآثار 11/1، دار قطني 29/1، بيهقي 207/1]
2 [ضعيف : ضعيف ابن ماجة 117، كتاب الطهارة : باب الحياض، الضعيفة 2644، ابن ماجه 521، دار قطني 208/1، طبراني كبير 123/8]
3 [بيهقي 209/1، دار قطني 28/1]
4 [والإجماع لابن المنذر 10 ص 33، المجموع للنوري 110/1، المغني لابن قدامة 03/1، البدر المنير لابن الملقن 83/2، نيل الأوطار 69/1]
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Fiqh al-Hadith
◈ This hadith has been declared authentic (sahih) by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma'in, and Allamah Ibn Hazm, rahimahumullah.
◈ In addition to them, Imam Hakim, rahimahullah, has also authenticated it. [البدر المنير بحواله ابكار المنن : ص 21]
◈ Imam Tirmidhi, rahimahullah, has graded it as hasan. [ترمذي مع تحفه ص 66 ج1]

Objection of the Objector: SA There is no restriction regarding the amount of water here, that how much water does not become impure, so it should be that you drink from pitchers and jugs after putting menstrual cloths and dog meat in them, because nothing renders water impure. [جاء الباطل : ج2، ص227] EA SH

Comment: EH Firstly Mufti Sahib! The statement that nothing renders water impure occurred in response to a question about the water of a well; therefore, the meaning of the hadith is that nothing renders the water of the well impure. Thus:

◈ The great muhaddith of the Deobandi branch of the second group, Mawlana Fakhr al-Hasan Gangohi, writes:
«لا ينجسه شئي لكثرته فان بئر بضاعة كان كثير الماء لا يتغير بوقوع هذه الأشياء، والماء الكثير لا ينجسه شئي .» [[حاشيه ابوداؤد : ج1، ص9]]
"Nothing renders water impure due to its abundance, and the well of Budā‘ah itself contained a large amount of water, and the falling of those things did not change its characteristics, and nothing renders abundant water impure." End quote

◈ Imam Shafi‘i, rahimahullah, states:
«فإن بئر بضاعة كثيرة الماء واسعة كان يطرح فيها من الأنجاس مالا يغير لها لونا ولا طعما ولا يظهر له فيها ريح» [معرفة السنن للبيهقي بحواله ابكار المنن : ص 26]
"The well of Budā‘ah contained a large amount of water and was spacious, into which impurities would fall, and yet the color, taste, and smell of its water would not change because of them, nor would any foul odor arise from it." End quote

English Commentary:
1:
Bi’r-e-Budaa‘ah is the name of a famous well in Madinah.

2:
In the phrase ((إِنَّ الْمَاءَ طَهُورٌ)) (“Indeed, water is pure”), the “lam” (اللام) in ((الْمَاءَ)) is the “lam” of specification (lam al-‘ahd), which means that the water of the well that the questioner has in mind is not rendered impure merely by impurity falling into it. This is because the width of this well was six cubits, and the water in it would reach above the navel, and when it decreased, it would go below the navel, as Imam Abu Dawud has mentioned in his Sunan. The ruling is that when water is in large quantity (i.e., more than two qullah), the mere falling of impurity into it does not render it impure. This does not mean that in every case, water in general is not rendered impure by impurity falling into it, whether it is little, or whether its taste or smell changes.

3:
The author’s intent is that this hadith is narrated from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu through several chains, and the best of these is the one through Abu Usamah. When all the chains are combined, this hadith reaches the level of sahih (authentic) due to supporting narrations (sahih li ghayrihi).

Note:
(In the chain of narration, ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah Rafi‘ is of unknown status (majhul al-hal), but due to corroborating narrations and supporting evidence, this hadith is authentic.)

Lexical Explanation:
«الْخُدْرِيِّ» is pronounced with a dammah on the “kha” and sukoon on the “dal.” It is attributed to «خُدرةٌ», which is a well-known tribe of the Ansar.
«طَهُورٌ» is pronounced with a fathah on the “ta,” meaning pure and purifying.
«لا يُنَجسُه» is derived from «تنجيس», which means that nothing renders it impure, i.e., nothing makes it najis (impure). The meaning is that the mere falling of impurity (najasah) into water does not render it impure, provided that the water is equal to or more than two large containers, as will be detailed ahead.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ The purpose of the hadith is that water is pure and is not rendered impure merely by the occurrence of impurity, whether its quantity is little or much. This is the opinion of Imam Malik rahimahullah, the Zahiri scholars, and according to one narration, also Imam Ahmad rahimahullah. Imam Malik rahimahullah has made a conditional statement that as long as none of the three characteristics (color, taste, smell) change, the water does not become impure, as will be mentioned ahead in the hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah Bahili radi Allahu anhu.
➋ This hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa’id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu pertains to a specific incident, which is that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was asked whether ablution (wudu) could be performed with the water of the well of Budha’ah. The well of Budha’ah was an old well into which menstrual cloths, pieces of dog flesh, and foul-smelling things would fall. In response, he said: “Water is pure.” [سنن أبي داود، الطهارة، باب ماجاء فى بئر بظاعة، حديث : 66]
Apparently, it seems that the “al” in «الماء» is for specification (al-‘ahd), meaning that the answer was given regarding the specific water about which the questioner had in mind, and that was the water of «بئر بضاعة». The width of this well was six cubits. When the water was abundant, it would reach above the navel, and when it was less, it would be below the navel, as Imam Abu Dawud rahimahullah has mentioned in his Sunan.
➌ This hadith only indicates that when water is in such a large quantity, the mere falling of impurity into it does not render it impure. It does not mean that in all water, the falling of impurity does not make it impure; rather, this hadith is only about abundant (kathir) water, not about little (qalil) water.

Hadith Narrator:
SR Sayyiduna Abu Sa’id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu: ER Abu Sa’id is his kunyah, and his noble name is Sa’d ibn Malik ibn Sinan. He belonged to the Ansari tribe of Khazraj. He is counted among the senior Companions radi Allahu anhum. Khudrah is an Ansari tribe to which he is attributed. He lived a long life of approximately eighty-six (86) years and passed away at the beginning of 74 AH. Many ahadith are narrated from him, and he also served as a mufti for some time.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ «بضاعة» “Ba” with a dammah, was a famous well in the north of Madinah Munawwarah, located in the area of Dar Bani Sa’idah, named after either its location or its owner. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) put his saliva in it. The sick were instructed to bathe with its water; they would perform ritual bath (ghusl) with it and be cured, as if released from a bond. [عون المعبود]
➋ The impurity mentioned in the hadith was not deliberately thrown into it; rather, the well was situated in such a place that strong winds or rainwater would carry all these things into it. Otherwise, even a non-Muslim would not tolerate such an act.
➌ The water of the well was running water, and its three characteristics—color, smell, and taste—would not change. Otherwise, if the effect of impurity becomes apparent, then by unanimous agreement the water will undoubtedly be impure.
➍ The investigative spirit and jurisprudential insight of the noble hadith scholars is commendable: until the era of Imam Abu Dawud, that is, the third century Hijri, this well was preserved. He himself went and observed it and obtained the necessary information.