Kinds of Water in Shāfiʿī Fiqh - Salam

1) Absolute (Unmixed) Water (al-māʾ al-muṭlaq) This is plain water that you would simply recognize as water. It hasn’t been mixed with anything else and is pure and tahir, so it can be used for ritual purification. Using it is not makrūh. If an animal whose blood doesn’t flow when it dies or is slaughtered falls into it by itself, the water does not become impure. There are other specific exceptions too. 2) Water Heated by the Sun (al-māʾ al-mushammās) This is water left under the sun in a hot place/season (not in gold or silver vessels) so that it becomes hot from the sun. It remains pure and can purify, but using it is considered makrūh both for health reasons and in sharʿī etiquette. If it cools back to its original state, the dislike is removed. 3) Used Water (al-māʾ al-mustaʿmal) This water is pure but not purifying. There are two kinds: (a) Water used for an obligatory wash, like the water someone uses when doing ghusl for janābah. (If a person already has wudūʾ and then does wudūʾ again, that water is not classified as “used water” in this sense.) (b) Water that’s been mixed with a pure substance so much that it loses the qualities of water (smell, color, taste) - for example, if ordinary water is turned into rose-water by mixing. If the mixing is slight and the water’s attributes don’t change, it’s not considered used. Also, naturally mixed river water with soil or similar things isn’t counted here. 4) Impure Water (al-māʾ al-najis) Two scenarios: - If an impure thing touches less than two qullahs (about 210 liters) of water, that whole amount becomes impure, regardless of whether its color, taste, or smell changed. - If the water is two qullahs or more, it becomes impure only if the impurity causes a noticeable change in color, taste, or smell.