❀ Islamic Principles on When Water Becomes Impure and How to Purify It ❀
✦ Taken from: Fatāwā ʿUlamā’-e-Ḥadīth, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Vol. 1, pp. 35–36
Under what conditions does water become impure, and how can it be purified? Were wells present during the early Islamic period and the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphate? If animals like rats, birds, cats, or dogs fell into wells, how was the water purified? And what if a dirty cloth fell in — what was the ruling?
Water remains pure (ṭāhir) unless a contaminant alters any of its three physical qualities:
① Smell (رائحة)
② Color (لون)
③ Taste (طعم)
If any one of these characteristics changes due to impurity, the water becomes impure (najis).
✔ Wells existed during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphate (Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn).
✔ These wells were commonly used for drinking, washing, and ablution.
➤ If an animal such as a rat, cat, or bird fell into a well, the water was not considered impure unless its color, smell, or taste changed.
This ruling is firmly established in Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence.
Islamic scholars are unanimously agreed:
"اجمع العلماء علٰی ان لاماء القليل والکثیر اذا وقعت فیہ نجاسة فغیرت لہ طعما او لونا او ریحا فھو نجس"
“The scholars agree that whether the water is little or plenty, if an impurity falls into it and it changes the taste, color, or smell, it becomes impure.”
[Subul al-Islam]
Narrated by ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه):
"If the water reaches two qullahs, it does not carry impurity.”
In another version: “It does not become impure.”
[Sunan Arbaʿah – authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah]
✔ The quantity of two qullahs equals roughly 10–12 large Arabic water skins.
✔ Even large volumes of water do not become impure unless a change in one of the three attributes is observed.
✔ If a dog, cat, rat, or bird falls into a well, the water remains pure unless its color, smell, or taste changes.
✔ The same applies if a dirty piece of cloth falls in — no impurity is assumed unless the characteristics of the water are visibly altered.
① Water is pure as long as no impurity alters its color, smell, or taste.
② Scholarly consensus supports this rule — for both small and large quantities of water.
③ Wells during the Prophet’s time were judged by this standard, even if animals or unclean objects fell in.
④ The two-qullah rule indicates that larger bodies of water are harder to contaminate, unless a visible change occurs.
Reference:
Fatāwā Thanāʾiyyah, Vol. 1, pp. 384–385
Subul al-Islām
✦ Taken from: Fatāwā ʿUlamā’-e-Ḥadīth, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Vol. 1, pp. 35–36
❖ Question:
Under what conditions does water become impure, and how can it be purified? Were wells present during the early Islamic period and the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphate? If animals like rats, birds, cats, or dogs fell into wells, how was the water purified? And what if a dirty cloth fell in — what was the ruling?
❖ Answer:
✿ Principle: When Does Water Become Impure?
Water remains pure (ṭāhir) unless a contaminant alters any of its three physical qualities:
① Smell (رائحة)
② Color (لون)
③ Taste (طعم)
If any one of these characteristics changes due to impurity, the water becomes impure (najis).
✿ State of Wells During the Early Islamic Era:
✔ Wells existed during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ and the Rightly Guided Caliphate (Khulafāʾ al-Rāshidīn).
✔ These wells were commonly used for drinking, washing, and ablution.
➤ If an animal such as a rat, cat, or bird fell into a well, the water was not considered impure unless its color, smell, or taste changed.
This ruling is firmly established in Hadith and Islamic jurisprudence.
✿ Scholarly Consensus:
Islamic scholars are unanimously agreed:
"اجمع العلماء علٰی ان لاماء القليل والکثیر اذا وقعت فیہ نجاسة فغیرت لہ طعما او لونا او ریحا فھو نجس"
“The scholars agree that whether the water is little or plenty, if an impurity falls into it and it changes the taste, color, or smell, it becomes impure.”
[Subul al-Islam]
✿ The Two-Qullah Rule:
Narrated by ʿAbdullah ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه):
"If the water reaches two qullahs, it does not carry impurity.”
In another version: “It does not become impure.”
[Sunan Arbaʿah – authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah]
✔ The quantity of two qullahs equals roughly 10–12 large Arabic water skins.
✔ Even large volumes of water do not become impure unless a change in one of the three attributes is observed.
✿ Wells and Falling Objects:
✔ If a dog, cat, rat, or bird falls into a well, the water remains pure unless its color, smell, or taste changes.
✔ The same applies if a dirty piece of cloth falls in — no impurity is assumed unless the characteristics of the water are visibly altered.
✔ Summary:
① Water is pure as long as no impurity alters its color, smell, or taste.
② Scholarly consensus supports this rule — for both small and large quantities of water.
③ Wells during the Prophet’s time were judged by this standard, even if animals or unclean objects fell in.
④ The two-qullah rule indicates that larger bodies of water are harder to contaminate, unless a visible change occurs.
Reference:Fatāwā Thanāʾiyyah, Vol. 1, pp. 384–385
Subul al-Islām
