The First Three Categories of Water: Pure, Disliked, and Used

Read the bilingual lesson for The First Three Categories of Water: Pure, Disliked, and Used and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. The Five Legal Categories of Water

Source text
ثُمَّ الْمِيَاهُ عَلَى خَمْسَةِ أَقْسَامٍ...

The text divides water into five legal categories:
1. طَاهِرٌ مُطَهِّرٌ غَيْرُ مَكْرُوهٍ — pure and purifying, not disliked.
2. طَاهِرٌ مُطَهِّرٌ مَكْرُوهٌ — pure and purifying, but disliked for use.
3. طَاهِرٌ غَيْرُ مُطَهِّرٍ — pure in itself but not purifying for ritual impurity; this includes used water.
4. مَاءٌ نَجِسٌ — impure water.
5. مَاءٌ مَشْكُوكٌ فِي طَهُورِيَّتِهِ — water whose purifying capacity is doubtful.

This level focuses on the first three categories.

2. Categories 1 and 2: Unrestricted and Disliked Water

Source text
وَطَاهِرٌ مُطَهِّرٌ مَكْرُوهٌ: وَهُوَ مَا شَرِبَتْ مِنْهُ الْهِرَّةُ وَنَحْوَهَا...

• Category 1: Ordinary absolute water is pure and purifying without dislike.
• Category 2: A small amount of water from which a domestic cat—or certain similar animals mentioned by the commentary—has drunk remains pure and purifying, but its use is mildly disliked when other suitable water is available.
• The commentary includes examples such as a free-roaming chicken, birds of prey, a snake, and a mouse.
• If no other suitable water is available, this water is used; one does not leave it and move to Tayammum.

3. Category 3: Used Water

Source text
وَطَاهِرٌ غَيْرُ مُطَهِّرٍ: وَهُوَ مَا اسْتُعْمِلَ لِرَفْعِ حَدَثٍ أَوْ لِقُرْبَةٍ

• Used water is pure in itself; it is not physically impure.
• However, it is not purifying for ritual impurity, so it is not reused to perform another Wudu or Ghusl.
• Water becomes used when it has been used on the body either:
◦ to remove ritual impurity (Raf' al-Hadath), or
◦ for an act of worship intended as devotion (Qurbah), such as renewing Wudu with the intention of worship.

4. When Does Water Become Used?

Source text
وَيَصِيرُ الْمَاءُ مُسْتَعْمَلًا بِمُجَرَّدِ انْفِصَالِهِ عَنِ الْجَسَدِ

• Water becomes used when it separates from the body after being used for removal of ritual impurity or for an act of devotion.
• If a person who already has Wudu merely washes away dirt or cools the hands, without intending an act of devotion, that runoff does not become used water for this reason.
• When water is actually used to remove ritual impurity, a separate intention of gaining reward is not required for the runoff to become used.

5. Liquids That Are Not Valid for Wudu

Source text
وَلَا يَجُوزُ بِمَاءِ شَجَرٍ وَثَمَرٍ... وَلَا بِمَاءٍ زَالَ طَبْعُهُ بِالطَّبْخِ

• Sap or liquid coming from a tree or fruit is not valid for Wudu, even if it comes out on its own without squeezing.
• Water cooked with a pure substance such as chickpeas or lentils is not valid if cooking changes the natural character of the water so that it becomes thick and loses normal flowability.
• If chickpeas or similar food are merely soaked without cooking and the water retains its normal thinness and flowability, the commentary states that Wudu remains valid with that water.

Practice questions

Question 1

At what point does water used for Wudu become Used Water (Musta'mal)?

As soon as it touches the skin
The moment it separates and flows off the limb
When it is stored in a storage bucket
Only after 10 minutes have passed

Question 2

Used water is physically impure, so any clothing touched by it becomes impure.

Question 3

Match each water scenario with its correct legal category.

Question 4

A person who already has Wudu washes the hands only to remove dirt or cool them, without intending an act of devotion. What is the status of the runoff?

It remains Pure and Purifying (Tahir Mutahhir).
It becomes Used Water (Musta'mal).
It becomes Impure (Najis).
It becomes Doubtful Water (Mashkuk).

Question 5

If chickpeas are merely soaked without cooking and the water remains thin and normally flowing, that water may still be used for Wudu.

Question 6

Which of the following produces used water?

A person who already has Wudu washes dirt from the hands without intending worship.
A person without Wudu performs Wudu to remove ritual impurity.
A clean garment is rinsed in water.
Rainwater flows directly from a roof into a container.

Question 7

Sort these liquids according to whether they may be used for Wudu.

Question 8

If a person who already has Wudu renews Wudu with the intention of worship and reward, the runoff becomes used water after it separates from the body.

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