What Are the Complete Islamic Rulings on Water for Ablution and Ritual Bath?
What Are the Islamic Rulings on Well Water Contamination and How Is a Well Purified?
If the water of a well becomes impure and even a single drop of that impure water falls into a pure well, the pure well also becomes impure immediately. The same applies to any bucket, rope, or vessel that has come into contact with the water of the impure well — all of these items also become impure. If any such contaminated item is then placed into a pure well, that well will become impure as well.
A human child who is born alive is treated under the same ruling as a full human being with respect to matters of purity and impurity. The young offspring of a goat is treated under the same ruling as an adult goat. Any animal that is smaller in size than a pigeon is treated under the same ruling as a mouse. Any animal that is smaller in size than a goat but larger than a pigeon is treated under the same ruling as a chicken.
If an animal whose leftover water is either pure or merely disliked falls into a well, and no water from that well has yet been drawn after the animal fell in — or if someone has already performed Ablution or Ritual Bath using that water before learning of the situation — the Ablution and Ritual Bath will be considered valid and do not need to be repeated.
If an animal that does not naturally originate or reproduce in water, but which lives in or near water — such as a duck — dies while in the water, the water in which it dies will immediately become impure and will not be usable for purification purposes.
Once the prescribed amount of water has been fully drawn out from an impure well to purify it, the bucket used for drawing that water automatically becomes pure as a result of the purification process. There is no need to wash the bucket separately afterward. Similarly, the inner walls of the well are also considered to have become pure and do not need to be washed or scrubbed.
The instruction to draw out a prescribed amount of water carries an important condition: the impure object that fell into the well must first be physically removed from the well before the water is drawn out. If the object remains in the well, drawing out any amount of water — no matter how much — will have no effect and the well will not become pure. However, there are two exceptions to this rule. First, if the object has fully decayed and dissolved into the water such that it no longer exists as a separate entity, then drawing the water alone is sufficient. Second, if the object was not originally impure in itself but became impure through contact with something impure — such as a piece of cloth that became contaminated — and its removal from the well is genuinely difficult or impossible, then in that case drawing the water alone will be sufficient to purify the well.
If a well has a specific bucket that has been permanently designated for use with that well, then that specific bucket — whether it happens to be small or large — is the measure that should be used when drawing out the prescribed amount of water for purification. If no specific bucket has been permanently assigned to the well, then a bucket that can hold approximately the equivalent of four and a half standard weight units of water should be used as the standard measure.
Sunni Bahishti ZewarIf a dead animal is found in a well, two situations arise depending on whether or not the time of the animal's death or fall into the well is known. If the exact time is known, the water is considered to have been impure from that moment onward. This means that any Ablution or Ritual Bath performed using water drawn from that well after that time is invalid. The prayers performed after such Ablution or Ritual Bath are also invalid and must be repeated. Any clothing, vessels, or body parts that came into contact with that water must be purified. However, if the exact time of the animal's death or fall is not known, the ruling is applied with mercy: the water is considered impure only from the moment of discovery, even if the animal has already become swollen or decomposed by that point. Any Ablution, Ritual Bath, or washing of clothing done before the discovery is considered valid and does not need to be repeated. This lenient ruling exists so that the Muslim community is not placed under undue hardship.
When drawing the prescribed amount of water from an impure well for the purpose of purification, one has a choice in method: the full prescribed amount may be drawn out all at once in one continuous effort, or it may be drawn out gradually over multiple sessions — both approaches are equally valid and the well becomes pure in either case. However, it is important to note that the water drawn during the purification process is only usable for normal purposes after the complete prescribed amount has been fully drawn out. Water drawn before the process is complete cannot yet be used.
If a fresh chicken egg that still has natural moisture on its shell falls into water, the water does not become impure as a result. The presence of that surface moisture on a fresh egg does not have the legal effect of contaminating the water it falls into.
If a child — whether the child of a Muslim family or a non-Muslim family — places a hand into water, the ruling depends entirely on whether the impurity of that hand is established. If it is known with certainty that the child's hand was impure at the time, then the water becomes impure as a direct result. If the impurity of the hand is not known and there is no established reason to believe it was impure, the water does not become impure and remains usable. However, as a matter of precaution and preference, it is better to use a different source of water for Ablution whenever another clean source is available.
Al-Durr Al-Mukhtar · Radd Al-Muhtar · Fatawa AlamgiriWhat Are the Islamic Rulings on the Leftover Water of Humans, Animals, and Birds?
The leftover water of any animal whose meat is lawful to consume — whether it is a four-legged animal or a bird — is considered pure and may be freely used for Ablution and Ritual Bath. This category includes cows, bulls, buffaloes, goats, sheep, camels, pigeons, partridges, and all similar permissible animals. The leftover water of a horse is also pure and permissible for use in purification.
A chicken that roams freely and habitually eats filth and impure matter has leftover water that is disliked, meaning it is preferable to avoid it when clean water is available. A chicken that is kept confined and does not eat filth has pure leftover water with no reservation. Similarly, certain cows are known to have the habit of eating filth, and their leftover water is also disliked. Beyond this, there are two situations that cause water to become fully impure rather than merely disliked. First, if an animal has just consumed something impure and immediately places its mouth into the water without the mouth having been cleaned, the water becomes impure. Second, if a bull, buffalo, or goat habitually smells the urine of another animal and its mouth becomes contaminated as a result, and it then places its mouth into the water before the mouth has been cleaned, the water in that case also becomes fully impure.
The leftover water of pigs, dogs, leopards, wolves, elephants, jackals, hyenas, and all other predatory or carnivorous animals is impure. This ruling applies without exception to all animals that are classified as predators and whose meat is not permissible to consume.
The leftover water of animals that live in water — that is, aquatic animals — is pure, regardless of whether those animals were actually born in water or simply spend their lives in it. For flying predatory birds such as hawks, falcons, sea eagles, and crows, their leftover water is disliked, meaning it is better avoided when alternatives exist. For domestic animals commonly found in homes — specifically cats, mice, and lizards — their leftover water is also disliked. As for donkeys and mules, their leftover water holds a doubtful status in Islamic law, meaning scholars have debated whether it is pure or not. Because of this uncertainty, Ablution and Ritual Bath performed using the leftover water of donkeys or mules are not considered valid.
General Books of Islamic JurisprudenceWhat Are the Miscellaneous Rulings on Vessels, Water Purity, and Conditions of Ablution?
If a dog places its mouth into a vessel and drinks from it, the method of purifying that vessel depends on the material it is made of. If the vessel is made of china, metal, glazed or polished clay, or enamel, washing it thoroughly three times is sufficient to restore its purity. However, if the vessel has cracks in it, or if it has a fine hair-like porous texture, then simply washing it is not enough — it must be dried completely after each of the three washes. Only washing combined with thorough drying after each wash will achieve full purification in such cases.
If a person — and we seek the protection of Allah from this — consumes alcohol and then immediately drinks water, that water will be considered impure due to contact with the impurity of the alcohol remaining in the mouth. Similarly, if a person who has consumed alcohol has a moustache that is long enough for alcohol to have come into contact with it, then as long as the moustache has not been cleaned and purified, any water that subsequently touches the moustache will become impure, and any vessel in which such a person drinks will also become impure.
If a cat eats a mouse or any other animal and then immediately places its mouth into a vessel without having cleaned its mouth first, that vessel becomes impure due to the blood and impurity remaining in the cat's mouth. However, if the cat licks its mouth thoroughly before placing it into the vessel, such that the trace of blood and any visible impurity has completely disappeared, the vessel does not become impure as a result.
Water whose leftover status is pure may be used freely for Ablution and Ritual Bath. However, an important exception applies in the case of a person who is in a state of major ritual impurity. If such a person drinks water directly from a vessel without first rinsing their mouth, the remaining water in that vessel becomes used water and loses the status required for it to be used in Ablution. This is because the mouth of a person in a state of major ritual impurity transmits that status to the water through direct contact.
When clean and fully pure water is readily available, performing Ablution or Ritual Bath using water that is merely disliked in status is itself considered a disliked act and should be avoided. However, if there is genuinely no clean water available and only disliked water can be found, then using that disliked water for Ablution or Ritual Bath is entirely permissible and there is no sin or objection in doing so.
When clean and fully pure water is available, it is not permissible to perform Ablution or Ritual Bath using water whose status is doubtful. However, if no clean water is available at all and only doubtful water can be found, the following course of action is required: Ablution or Ritual Bath must be performed using that doubtful water, and additionally, dry purification using clean earth must also be performed alongside it. If a person performs only the Ablution or Ritual Bath with the doubtful water but does not also perform dry purification, or if a person performs only dry purification without also performing Ablution or Ritual Bath with the doubtful water, the prayer will not be valid. Both acts must be performed together in this situation.
If water of doubtful purity becomes mixed with clean and fully pure water, the ruling depends on the proportions of the mixture. If the clean water is greater in quantity than the doubtful water, the mixture is considered predominantly clean and Ablution performed with it is valid. If the doubtful water is equal to or greater in quantity than the clean water, the mixture takes on the doubtful status and Ablution with it is not valid.
If a dog licks only the outer rim or outer surface of a water pot or container, the water stored inside the vessel does not become impure as a result. The impurity is limited to the point of direct physical contact, and since the dog did not place its mouth into the water itself, the water inside remains pure.
It is not permissible and is strongly discouraged to consume — whether by eating or drinking — any water or liquid whose leftover status is considered doubtful. Even when such water might be technically usable for external purification in the absence of alternatives, it should not be consumed as food or drink.
The sweat and saliva of any animal follow exactly the same ruling as the leftover water of that animal. If an animal's leftover water is impure, its sweat and saliva are also impure. If its leftover water is pure, its sweat and saliva are also pure. And if its leftover water is merely disliked, its sweat and saliva are also disliked in the same way. This ruling applies consistently across all categories of animals.
If the sweat of a donkey or mule comes into contact with clothing, the clothing does not become impure as a result, regardless of how much sweat touches the garment. This ruling is explicitly stated in the most authoritative classical references of Islamic jurisprudence and applies even when the amount of sweat is considerable.
Al-Durr Al-Mukhtar · Radd Al-MuhtarAll of the rulings presented in this article are drawn from the most trusted and authoritative classical sources of Islamic jurisprudence. Every Muslim woman is encouraged to learn these essential matters of purification so that her acts of worship remain valid, her daily life remains in accordance with the teachings of Islam, and she is able to fulfill her religious obligations with confidence and clarity. May Allah grant us all a deep understanding of His religion, protect us from error in our worship, and accept all of our righteous deeds.
Frequently Asked Questions About Water Rulings in Islamic Purification
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Permissible Water for Ablution and Ritual Bath
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