Well Purification: Required Bucket Counts and Unknown Time of Death

Read the bilingual lesson for Well Purification: Required Bucket Counts and Unknown Time of Death and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. When Complete Drainage Is Not Required

• Some animal deaths require a fixed number of buckets rather than complete drainage, provided the carcass has not swollen or decomposed.
• The amount depends on the size/category of the animal.
• The carcass is removed first, then the prescribed amount of water is drawn.

2. Mouse, Sparrow, and Similar Small Animals

Source text
وَإِنْ مَاتَ فِيهَا فَأْرَةٌ أَوْ نَحْوُهَا لَزِمَ نَزْحُ عِشْرِينَ دَلْوًا

• If a mouse, sparrow, or a similar small animal dies in the well without swelling, 20 buckets are required.
• The commentary recommends increasing the amount to 30 buckets.

3. Chicken, Cat, and Similar Medium Animals

Source text
وَإِنْ مَاتَ فِيهَا دَجَاجَةٌ أَوْ هِرَّةٌ أَوْ نَحْوُهُمَا لَزِمَ نَزْحُ أَرْبَعِينَ دَلْوًا

• If a chicken, cat, or similar-sized animal dies without swelling, 40 buckets are required.
• The commentary recommends increasing the amount to 50 or 60 buckets.

4. Deaths That Do Not Impurify the Well

Source rule
وَلَا يَفْسُدُ الْمَاءُ بِمَوْتِ مَا لَا دَمَ لَهُ فِيهِ كَسَمَكٍ وَضِفْدَعٍ وَحَيَوَانِ الْمَاءِ وَبَقٍّ وَذُبَابٍ وَزُنْبُورٍ وَعَقْرَبٍ

• The text exempts animals without flowing blood and aquatic creatures, such as fish, aquatic frogs, flies and scorpions.
• The commentary notes an important qualification: a land frog with flowing blood is not treated like an aquatic frog.

5. A Small Amount of Animal Droppings

Source text
وَلَا تَنْجُسُ الْبِئْرُ بِالْبَعْرِ وَالرَّوْثِ وَالْخِثْيِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَسْتَكْثِرَهُ النَّاظِرُ أَوْ أَنْ لَا يَخْلُوَ دَلْوٌ عَنْ بَعْرَةٍ

• A small amount of the listed animal droppings is excused in the well.
• It is treated as excessive if an observer regards it as a large amount, or if the drawn buckets are repeatedly not free from a dropping.
• This exception is specific to the type of droppings discussed here; it should not be generalized to every kind of impurity.

6. Unknown Time of Death: Carcass Not Swollen

Source text
وَوُجُودُ حَيَوَانٍ مَيِّتٍ فِيهَا يُنَجِّسُهَا مِنْ يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ

• If the time of death is unknown and the carcass has not swollen, the matn applies a precautionary period of one day and one night.
• The commentary identifies this as the position of Imam Abu Hanifah.
• Under this position, prayers performed after using that water for Wudu during the relevant period are repeated.

7. Unknown Time of Death: Carcass Swollen or Decomposed

Source text
وَمُنْتَفِخٌ مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ وَلَيَالِيهَا إِنْ لَمْ يُعْلَمْ وَقْتُ وُقُوعِهِ

• If the carcass is swollen or decomposed and the time is unknown, the matn applies three days and three nights under Imam Abu Hanifah's precautionary position.
• The commentary connects the longer period to swelling being evidence that the carcass has been there for some time.

8. A Juristic Difference on the Previous Period

• The one-day/three-day retrospective rule is the position of Imam Abu Hanifah stated in the matn.
• The commentary records a different position from Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad: the well is treated as impure from the time the dead animal is discovered, unless the actual earlier time is known.
• This distinction affects whether earlier prayers must be repeated.

Practice questions

Question 1

A mouse dies in the well and is removed before swelling. What is the minimum required amount stated in the text?

20 buckets.
30 buckets.
40 buckets.
Complete drainage.

Question 2

If a cat or chicken dies in the well without swelling, 40 buckets are required, and the commentary recommends increasing the amount to 50 or 60.

Question 3

Which of the following creatures does NOT contaminate the well water if it dies inside?

A domestic cat.
A sparrow.
A scorpion or fly (creatures with no flowing blood).
A dog.

Question 4

Water frogs and fish contaminate well water if they die in it because they are water creatures.

Question 5

Under what condition do animal droppings (like sheep or cow dung) contaminate a small well?

If even a single piece falls in.
When it appears excessive to the observer, or the drawn buckets are repeatedly not free from droppings.
Animal droppings are always inherently pure.
Only if the water changes color.

Question 6

According to Imam Abu Hanifah's precautionary position stated in the matn, if a dead animal is found un-swollen and its time of death is unknown, how far back is the well treated as impure?

From 3 days and 3 nights ago.
From 1 day and 1 night (24 hours) ago.
Only from the exact moment of discovery.
From 10 days ago.

Question 7

According to Imam Abu Hanifah's position stated in the matn, a swollen or decomposed carcass of unknown timing is treated retrospectively for three days and three nights.

Question 8

Match each animal case with the required amount of water and the recommended increase stated in the lesson.

Question 9

What different position of Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Muhammad does the commentary record when the earlier time of death is unknown?

The well is treated as impure from the time the dead animal is discovered, unless the earlier time is actually known.
Every earlier prayer of the entire month must be repeated.
The well remains permanently pure.
The animal's size alone determines the date of impurity.

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