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TAHAARAH - Cleanliness - WATER

Purifying an Impure Well

Q: Taharaat-28: A Muslim woman fell in and died in a well. Half of the water was subsequently removed and animals were watered form there for eight days. Clothes have also been washed there for the past twenty days. Is this water now fit for drinking? The pump is not powerful enough to remove all the water at once, neither is the pipe long enough. Does all the water have to be removed at once or can it be removed little by little? When will the water be regarded as pure. It is necessary to rewash clothing that has already been washed in the well?

Answer: If the well is less than ten by ten in size, the water will become impure by the death of the woman. However, if it is bigger than ten by ten, it will become impure only if some impurity like blood altered the taste, colour or smell of the water. If it did become impure in this way, the wudhu made before removing the water will be invalid and the salaah performed with such a wudhu will have to be repeated. Similarly, if any clothing was washed before removing the water was purified by removal, they will be impure and salaah performed with them will also have to be repeated. To purify the water, the amount of water present in the well when the woman fell in will have to be removed. It need not be removed all at once and removing it little by little will also suffice. And Allaah knows best what is most correct.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.2