Question 815: If salty seawater, well water, or rainwater is boiled, can one perform ablution with the water that is obtained from its steam?

219 13 Feb 2021
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Answer

✅Answer: Please pay attention to the following narrations:

1 عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ النَّوْفَلِيِّ عَنِ السَّكُونِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ الْمَاءُ يُطَهِّرُ وَ لَا يُطَهَّرُ.

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 1

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Water purifies, and it is not purified!

2 عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ حَسَّانَ عَنْ عَمِّهِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ كَثِيرٍ الْهَاشِمِيِّ مَوْلَى مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ: بَيْنَا أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ جَالِسٌ مَعَ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ يَا مُحَمَّدُ- ائْتِنِي بِإِنَاءٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ أَتَوَضَّأْ لِلصَّلَاةِ فَأَتَاهُ مُحَمَّدٌ بِالْمَاءِ فَأَكْفَاهُ فَصَبَّهُ بِيَدِهِ الْيُسْرَى عَلَى يَدِهِ الْيُمْنَى ثُمَّ قَالَ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَ بِاللَّهِ وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الْمَاءَ طَهُوراً وَ لَمْ يَجْعَلْهُ نَجِساً...

📚 Al-Tahdhib, Vol. 1, p. 52

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: One day, while the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was sitting with Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, he suddenly said: O Muhammad! Bring me a vessel of water so that I may perform ablution for prayer with it!

So Muhammad brought him water. The Imam tilted the vessel with his left hand and poured it on his right hand and recited this supplication:

In the name of Allah and by Allah, and all kinds of praise are for that Allah who made water pure and purifying, and the source of purity for ghusl and wudu, and did not make it impure...

✅ In the hadiths of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), permission has been given to use all types of absolute water, such as seawater, well water, rainwater, and so on, for purifying impurities and for ghusl and wudu. Only in certain situations, such as becoming 'mudaf' (mixed) or coming into contact with an impurity, do its rules change. The evaporation of water and its subsequent conversion back into water is neither among the cases that the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) have mentioned as causing the water to lose its 'tahur' (purifying) quality, nor is it something that takes the water out of the category of 'water'. Therefore, there is no reason to exclude it from the types of water suitable for purity, and we can use it for ghusl, wudu, and so on.

اللَّهُمَّ فَصَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْرَ

Well water

Seawater

Rainwater