What makes a well impure, and how to purify it
What does and does not make well water impure, how many buckets purify it, bucket size, and how long the impurity is assumed to last.
A well's water stays pure until something falls in it that makes it impure. Some things ruin the whole well; other things only need some water taken out; and some things do not affect the well at all.
| What falls in | What to do |
|---|---|
| A drop of anything impure, like alcohol, urine or blood; a pig; a dead body not yet washed; a big animal like a goat or a person that dies in it | The whole well becomes impure; you must take out water until it is clean again, or all of it if needed |
| A mouse or small bird that dies without swelling up | Take out 20 to 30 buckets of water, and the well becomes pure again |
| A cat or pigeon that dies without swelling up | Take out 40 to 60 buckets of water, and the well becomes pure again |
| A fish, frog, fly or mosquito, dead or alive | The well stays pure; these do not affect it at all |
| A person or animal that falls in and climbs back out alive, with nothing impure on them | The well stays pure |
How to purify a well
- First take out whatever fell in and caused the problem, if you can.
- Then take out the right number of buckets of water.
- If the whole well became impure and cannot be fully emptied, take out 200 to 300 buckets instead.
The water in a well is pure as long as nothing falls into it that makes it impure. What falls into a well falls into two groups: things that make the entire well impure, and things that do not.
Things that make the whole well impure
- Any impurity at all, large or small, light or heavy: a drop of alcohol, urine, blood, a trace of faeces, or any other impure substance.
- A large animal, such as a goat or a human being, falling in and dying, even if the body stays intact and does not swell or decompose.
- A creature with flowing blood (a bird or mouse) or a medium-sized animal (a chicken) that falls in and swells or decomposes, or is already in that state when it falls.
- A deceased non-Muslim falling in, whether before or after washing.
- A deceased Muslim falling in before their ghusl.
- A pig falling in, even if it does not die.
- An animal whose saliva is impure or doubtful (such as a dog) falling in with its mouth submerged.
- Water from an impure well reaching a pure one: for example, if a bucket dipped in an impure well is lowered into a pure well and even a drop falls in.
| What died in the well | Buckets to remove |
|---|---|
| A mouse, small bird, or similar-sized animal, without swelling or decomposing | 20 obligatory, 30 preferable |
| A cat, pigeon, or an animal of similar size (larger than a mouse, smaller than a goat), without swelling or decomposing | 40 obligatory, 60 preferable |
If water from a well in this condition then reaches a separate pure well, the same amount must be removed from that pure well as well.
How to purify a well
- Remove the object that caused the impurity, if it can be removed. Until it is removed, no amount of water drawn out will purify the well. If the object cannot be removed, such as a piece of impure wood or cloth stuck inside, simply drawing out the specified amount of water is enough.
- If the entire well has become impure, empty it completely, until it cannot even half-fill a bucket. The well is then pure.
- For a well that cannot be completely emptied, draw out 200 buckets (obligatory) to 300 buckets (preferable) instead.
- Where only some water needs removing, draw out 20 to 40, or 40 to 60 buckets, according to what fell in.
- If the well holds less water than the number of buckets required, say 40 are required but only 20 can be drawn, drawing out everything available is sufficient.
- If an impure well dries up completely on its own, it becomes pure too, as long as no trace of the impurity remains.
| What falls in | Why it's not a problem |
|---|---|
| Aquatic animals (fish, frogs, water insects) or animals without flowing blood (flies, mosquitoes, scorpions) | The well stays pure whether they fall in dead or alive, even if they swell or decompose |
| Small droppings of animals like camels or goats, or bird droppings other than from chickens and ducks (such as crows, hawks, bats) | These do not affect the well |
| Dry bones, nails or hair of any animal other than a pig, with no meat or fat attached | The well stays pure, even from a dead animal |
| A dirty puddle or drain nearby | The well stays pure as long as the dirty water does not visibly reach and affect it |
| A tiny piece of human skin, smaller than a fingernail | Too small to affect the well |
| A Muslim's body after burial ghusl, or a baby who was born alive but died after crying, falling in after being washed | The well stays pure |
| A person who falls in but climbs out alive, or a diver retrieving a bucket | The well stays pure, as long as there is no visible impurity on their body or clothes |
| Any animal other than a pig that falls in and comes out alive | The well stays pure, provided its body carries no impurity and its mouth did not touch the water; if its mouth did touch the water, the ruling follows the purity of that animal's saliva |
A well's water is ṭāhir so long as nothing has fallen into it that renders it impure. What falls into a well divides into what renders the whole of it impure, and what does not.
What renders the entire well impure
- Any najāsah whatsoever, whether small or large, ghalīẓah or khafīfah: a drop of alcohol, urine, blood, a trace of faeces, or any other impure matter.
- A large animal (a goat, or a human being) falling in and dying, even where the body remains intact, neither swollen nor decomposed.
- A creature with sāʾil (flowing) blood, a bird or a mouse, or a medium animal such as a chicken, falling in and becoming swollen or decomposed, or already so when it falls.
- A deceased non-Muslim falling in, whether before or after ghusl.
- A deceased Muslim falling in before their ghusl has been performed.
- A pig falling in, even without dying.
- A creature whose saliva is impure or mashkūk (doubtful), such as a dog, falling in with its mouth submerged.
- Water of an impure well reaching a pure one: as where a bucket dipped in the impure well is lowered into the pure well and even a drop enters it.
| What died in the well | Buckets to remove |
|---|---|
| A mouse, small bird, or an animal of comparable or slightly greater size but smaller than a cat, without swelling or decomposing | 20 obligatory, 30 preferable |
| A cat, pigeon, or an animal of comparable or slightly greater size but smaller than a goat, without swelling or decomposing | 40 obligatory, 60 preferable |
If water from such an affected well subsequently reaches a separate pure well, the same quantity required for the affected well must be removed from the pure well as well. The document also notes, in its earlier summary of this ruling, that a mouse or a similarly small animal, or two mice, falls under the 20-to-30-bucket rule.
Method of purifying a well
- Remove the object responsible for the impurity where this is possible; until it is removed, no quantity of water drawn out purifies the well. Where the object cannot be removed (a piece of impure wood or cloth lodged inside, for instance), drawing out the specified quantity of water alone suffices.
- Where the entire well has become impure, it is purified by being emptied completely, to the point that it cannot even half-fill a bucket.
- For a well that cannot be emptied entirely, 200 buckets (obligatory) to 300 buckets (preferable) are drawn instead.
- Where the impurity is of the partial kind, 20 to 40, or 40 to 60 buckets are drawn, according to the animal involved.
- Where the well holds less water than the obligatory quantity (40 required but only 20 available, for instance), drawing out all the water present is sufficient.
- An impure well that dries up completely of its own accord becomes pure by that alone, provided no trace of the impurity remains.
| What falls in | Basis of the ruling |
|---|---|
| Aquatic creatures (fish, frogs, water insects) or creatures without flowing blood (flies, mosquitoes, scorpions) | The well remains pure whether they fall in dead or alive, and even if they swell or decompose |
| Small droppings of camels or goats, or the droppings of birds other than chickens and ducks (crows, hawks, bats) | Excluded from what affects the well |
| Dry bones, nails or hair of any animal other than a pig, with no meat or fat attached | The well remains pure even where these come from a dead animal |
| A dirty puddle or drain near the well | The well remains pure as long as the contamination does not visibly reach and affect its water |
| A fragment of human flesh smaller than a fingernail | Too minor to affect the well |
| The body of a Muslim after burial ghusl, or a baby born alive who died after crying, falling in after having already been washed | The well remains pure |
| A person falling in and emerging alive, or a diver retrieving a bucket | The well remains pure provided there is no visible najāsah on their body or clothing |
| Any animal other than a pig falling in and emerging alive | The well remains pure provided its body carries no najāsah and its mouth did not touch the water; where its mouth did touch the water, the ruling follows whether that animal's saliva is pure, impure, or doubtful |
Related
- Severe and light impurity, what is excused, and what is not impure at all What counts as severe or light impurity, how much of each is excused on the body or clothes, and things that are not impure at all.
- The types of water, and which can be used for purification Absolute, flowing, still, large-quantity, small-quantity, restricted and used water, and the rulings that attach to each.
- How to purify the body, clothes, and other things How impurity is removed from the body, clothes, skins, the ground, metal and glass, utensils, oil and honey, and other items.
- Legal and physical impurity, and the ways things are purified The difference between legal impurity (hadath) and physical impurity (najasah), and the twelve recognised ways of purifying something.