TEXT
TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY
Water is a purifier from hadath and khabath. It becomes impure by being changed through the impurity. It becomes pure by the disappearance of that change if the water (1) is flowing (jārī) (2) or it comes in contact with a kurr, whose measure is one thousand and two hundred Iraqi riṭl (3). Qalīl water and well water become impure through contact (4). Qalīl is purified by what has been mentioned and a well is purified by removing…(5)
(1) The Categorization of Muṭlaq (Unmixed) Water
The two Shahīds categorize muṭlaq water directly into flowing water (māʾ jārī), kurr, qalīl, and well water (māʾ al-biʾr). They do not mention rainwater (al-ghayth or al-maṭar) as a separate category of water. However, Shahīd al-Thānī does mention it as a means of purification for qalīl.
Sayyid al-Ḥakīm categorizes muṭlaq water into qalīl, kurr, rainwater (māʾ al-maṭar), and water with a source (mā lahu māddah). These categories are mentioned in his discussion on how water can become impure (tanajjus).
Sayyid Sīstānī categorizes water, first, into that which has a source and that which does not. Water without a source is either qalīl or kathīr (also called kurr). The source for water with a source is either natural or not. Water with a natural source is either māʾ jārī or māʾ al-biʾr. Māʾ al-maṭar is not clearly categorized into any of the aforementioned groups, although it is noted under the discussion of water with a source. Water with an unnatural source – such as tap water – is given the same rulings as water without a source at all.
Māʾ Muʿtaṣim
The term muʿtaṣim literally refers to something that protects itself. In the terminology of the jurists, it refers to water that does not become impure through mere contact with impurities, but rather through contact in which the color, taste, or smell of the water is altered by the source of impurity (ʿayn al-najāsah). The following types of water are considered muʿtaṣim by jurists:
The two Shahīds consider kurr and māʾ jārī to be muʿtaṣim. Although it is not explicitly stated, it is apparent Shahīd al-Thānī considers māʾ al-maṭar to also be muʿtaṣim, as it is a means to purify qalīl
Sayyid al-Ḥakīm considers kurr and rainwater to be muʿtaṣim.
Sayyid Sīstānī considers kathīr/kurr, māʾ jārī, māʾ al-biʾr, and māʾ al-maṭar as muʿtaṣim.
Note: It seems as though Ṣayyid Ḥakīm is including mā lahū mādda as type of muʿtaṣim water. This will be clarified shortly. (2) The Definition of Māʾ Jārī (Flowing Water) Shahīd Thānī defines māʾ jārī as water that gushes from the earth other than māʾ al-biʾr, regardless of whether the gushing is continuous or intermittent. Sayyid Ḥakīm does not have a separate category of flowing water. Water with a source is defined as water connected to another body of water – its source – in such a way that it if some water is removed from it, the source replenishes it. Sayyid Sīstānī defines māʾ jārī as water with a natural source that is flowing continuously – even if that flowing is artificially created (such as by digging an opening for it to flow), and even if that continuity is not permanent (for example if it flows in the summer but not in the winter). Sayyid Ḥakīm requires that the water be connected to its source with contiguity. However, according to Sayyid Sīstānī this is not necessary. The source must be replenishing that water; but a natural separation between the water from its source is not a problem. The source can even be feeding the water through trickling or dripping and it will be considered māʾ jārī. In the opinion of Shahīd Thānī, a small puddle of water that is fed by a spring is considered is considered māʾ jārī, thus muʿtaṣim. However, according to Sayyid Sīstānī, such a body of water would not be considered māʾ jārī because it is not actually flowing; thus the water would not be muʿtaṣim. In the view of Sayyid Ḥakīm, if the water itself or its source is not a kurr, the water will take the same legal status as qalīl. This view is similar to the view of ʿAllāmah Ḥillī mentioned by Shahīd Thānī.
(3) The Amount of Kurr Shahīd Thānī mentions that the prevalent opinion (mashhūr) of the Imāmī jurists is that a kurr of water is forty-two and seven-eighths cubic hand-spans (shibr, pl. ashbār). Sayyid Sīstānī believes that water reaching a volume of thirty-six cubic hand-spans is kurr. According to Sayyid Ḥakīm, a kurr of water is twenty-seven cubic hand-spans of water. Shahīd Thānī considers strong this opinion for the amount of kurr water. This view is often called the opinion of the early Qummī school (qawl al-qummiyyīn).
(4) The Status of Māʾ al-Biʾr (Well Water) According to both Shahīds, māʾ al-biʾr is not considered muʿtaṣim, since they do not consider it māʾ jārī. Sayyid Ḥakīm agrees that it is not muʿtaṣim if the source is less than a kurr. This is because of his view that having a source in and of itself does not make water muʿtaṣim. Rather, the source must reach the volume of a kurr. According to Sayyid Sīstānī, well water is itself muʿtaṣim by virtue of being māʾ jārī. (5) The Purification (Taṭhīr) of Māʾ al-Biʾr After this point, Shahīd Awwal begins a discussion on how to purify the water of a well by removing a certain amount of buckets based on the type of impurity that has entered the well. Shahīd Thānī notes that it can be purified by what has already been mentioned – coming into contact with māʾ muʿtaṣim such that its properties are unchanged or they return to normal during this contact. However, māʾ al-biʾr is treated by both to be qalīl. Most contemporary jurists do not discuss this issue at length, because the prevalent opinion has become that māʾ al-biʾr is muʿtaṣim. Thus it will not become impure merely by contact with impurities and will immediately become ṭāhir when its properties return to normal. The riwāyāt commanding to remove a number of buckets of water from the well for purification have been interpreted to be istihbāb or to be instances of taqiyyah.[1]After analyzing the narrations regarding the tanajjus and taṭhīr of māʾ al-biʾr, Muhaddith Yūsuf Bahrānī (d. 1186 AH) – perhaps the final preeminent akhbārī faqīh – notes … Continue reading Relevant Ahadith The iʿtiṣām of these types of water is understood from the following ahādīth: Shaykh Ṭūsī in Tahdhīb al-Ahkām narrates from the books of Ḥusayn b. Saʿīd[3]Shaykh Ṭūsī often pulls narrations directly from older sources. Instead of listing his entire ṭarīq (chain of authorities, pl. ṭuruq, often used synonymously with isnād and sanad) to the … Continue reading from Ḥammād b. ʿĪsā from Muʿāwiyah b. ʿAmmār from Imam Ṣādiq (ʿa). He said, “When water reaches the amount of a kurr, nothing makes it impure.” This isnād or sanad (chain of narrators) of this narration is considered ṣahīh[4]A ṣahīh hadīth is defined as a report whose sanad is contiguous to the Maʿṣūm through the transmission of a just imāmī from another in all strata of the chain (ṭabaqah, pl. ṭabaqāt) … Continue reading) from Muʿāwiyah b. ʿAmmār, a companion of Imam Ṣādiq and Imam Kāẓim (ʿa).[5]Muʿāwiyah b. ʿAmmār b. Abū Muʿāwiyah al-Duhnī al-Bajalī. Shaykh Najāshī (d. 450 or after 463 AH) – a contemporary of Shaykh Ṭūsī – highly praises him and gives him tawthīq … Continue reading Shaykh Ṭūsī in al-Tahdhīb narrates from al-Mufīd from Ibn Qūluwayh from his father from Saʿd b. ʿAbdullāh from Ahmad b. Muhammad from Muhammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Bazīʿ. He said: I wrote to a man asking him to ask Abu al-Ḥasan al-Riḍā (ʿa). The Imam said, “Well water is expansive. Nothing spoils it unless its smell or taste changes, in which case water should be removed from it until the smell goes away and the taste becomes clean, because it has a source.” This hadīth is also considered ṣahīh from Muhammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Bazīʿ, a companion of Imam Kāẓim and Imam Riḍā and contemporary of Imam Jawād (ʿa).[7]Muhammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Bazīʿ is highly praised by the scholars of rijāl declaring him from amongst the righteous of the Shia and is emphatically given tawthīq. al-Najāshī mentions a report … Continue reading) In fact, the narrators of this hadīth are famous and well trusted scholars of their era and the core transmitters of the imāmī legacy. This report is a point of discussion among jurists as it will determine if “having a source” is a general standard for water being muʿtaṣim.[8]Many Fuqahā’ have understood the reason at the end of this narration – “because it has a source” – to refer back to and explain the hukm for this water being muʿtaṣim (lā yufsiduhu … Continue reading) As for the volume of kurr water: The mashhūr and qawl al-qummiyyīn can be extracted from the following ahādīth: Shaykh Kulaynī narrates from Muhammad b. Yahyā from al-Barqī from Ibn Sinān from Ismāʿīl b. Jābir. He said, “I asked Imam al-Ṣādiq عليه السلام about water that is not made impure by anything. He said, ‘Kurr water.’ I asked what is kurr? He said, ‘Three ashbār by three ashbār.’” Shaykh Kulaynī narrates from Muhammad b. Yahyā from Ahmad b. Muhammad from Ibn Mahbūb from Ḥasan b. Ṣālih al-thawrī from Abū ʿAbdallāh [al-Ṣādiq] (ʿa). “He said, ‘When water in the container is a kurr, nothing makes it impure.’ I asked, ‘How much is a kurr?’ He replied, ‘A depth of three and a half ashbār by a width of three and a half ashbār.’” References
↑1 After analyzing the narrations regarding the tanajjus and taṭhīr of māʾ al-biʾr, Muhaddith Yūsuf Bahrānī (d. 1186 AH) – perhaps the final preeminent akhbārī faqīh – notes that there is acute ikhtilāf and mutual contradiction (taʿāruḍ) between these narrations, such as a single impurity calling for a different number of buckets to be removed in different reports, some hadīth giving an ambiguous amount (e.g. “dilāʾan” a number of buckets), and sometimes calling for the removal of buckets of water for situations where tanajjus has not occurred by consensus. Therefore, it is necessary to interpret these narrations to be a recommendation (mustahabb). al-Ḅahrānī also mentions these reports may be instances of taqiyyah, as it is established the Imams would deliberately give edicts in opposition to the public jurists. (see: Yūsaf al-Bahrānī, “al-Ḥadā’iq al-Nāḍirah,” vol. 1 (Qum: Mu’assasah al-Nashr al-Islāmī) 350-363).
↑2 Muhammad b. Ḥasan Ḥurr ʿĀmilī, Wasā’il al-Shʿah ilā Tahṣīl Masā’il al-Sharīʿah, “Bāb ʿAdam Najāsah al-Kurr min al-Mā’ al-Rākid bi-Mulāqāh al-Najāsah bi-dūn al-Taghayyur,” vol. 1, hadith 1/391 (Qum: Mu’assasah Āl al-Bayt, n.d.), 158.
↑3 Shaykh Ṭūsī often pulls narrations directly from older sources. Instead of listing his entire ṭarīq (chain of authorities, pl. ṭuruq, often used synonymously with isnād and sanad) to the book each time he narrates from it, he leaves his reader to refer back to his Fihrist or the Mashikhah index at the end of al-Tahdhīb in order to establish his sources. al-Ṭūsī presents two ṭarīqs, the following is the second presented in his Fihrist: A number of our associates reported his books and narrations to us from Muhammad b. ʿAlī b. Ḥusayn (Shaykh Ṣadūq) from his father, Muhammad b. Ḥasan (ibn al-Walīd), and Muhammad b. Mūsā b. Mutawakkil from Saʿd b. ʿAbdallāh and al-Ḥimyarī from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. ʿĪsā from Ḥusayn b. Saʿīd. Sayyid Khū’ī declares this ṭarīq to be ṣahīh (see: al-Khū’ī, “Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth,” vol. 6, entry 3424). Thus, whenever we see that Shaykh Ṭūsī begins an isnād with Ḥusayn b. Saʿīd we know he is quoting from a well-sourced copy (nuskhah).
↑4 A ṣahīh hadīth is defined as a report whose sanad is contiguous to the Maʿṣūm through the transmission of a just imāmī from another in all strata of the chain (ṭabaqah, pl. ṭabaqāt) when they are numerous. (see: Zayn al-Dīn ʿAlī b. Ahmad al-ʿĀmilī (Shahīd Thānī), al-Riʿāyah fī ʿIlm al-Dirāyah, “al-Ḥaql al-Awwal fī al-Ṣahīh,” (Qum: Maktabah Āyatallāh al-Marʿashī al-Najafī, 2012), 77.
↑5 Muʿāwiyah b. ʿAmmār b. Abū Muʿāwiyah al-Duhnī al-Bajalī. Shaykh Najāshī (d. 450 or after 463 AH) – a contemporary of Shaykh Ṭūsī – highly praises him and gives him tawthīq (attestation of trustworthiness). He passed away in 175 AH (see: al-Khū’ī, “Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth,” vol. 19, entry 12488).
↑6 Muhammad b. Ḥasan Ḥurr ʿĀmilī, Wasā’il al-Shʿah ilā Tahṣīl Masā’il al-Sharīʿah, “Bāb ʿAdam Najāsah Mā’ al-Bi’r bi-Mujarrad al-Mulāqāh min Ghayr Taghayyur wa Ḥukm al-Nazh” vol. 1, hadith 7/428 (Qum: Mu’assasah Āl al-Bayt, n.d.), 172.
↑7 Muhammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Bazīʿ is highly praised by the scholars of rijāl declaring him from amongst the righteous of the Shia and is emphatically given tawthīq. al-Najāshī mentions a report from Imam al-Riḍā (ʿa) where a number of Shia had mentioned Muhammad b. Ismāʿīl in his presence and the Imam said, “I wish there was among you all someone like him.” (see: al-Khū’ī, “Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth,” vol. 16, entry 10272.
↑8 Many Fuqahā’ have understood the reason at the end of this narration – “because it has a source” – to refer back to and explain the hukm for this water being muʿtaṣim (lā yufsiduhu shay’). However, Sayyid Ḥakīm objects to this saying that the prima-facie (ẓāhir) meaning of the narration is that the reason for the water being muʿtaṣim is that it is expansive (wāsiʿ) – being a reference to vast in quantity (i.e. kurr) – while the end of the narration is only referring to the removal of the water until its properties return to normal, as if to say that the water will return to normal by removing water because its source will replenish it. (see: Sayyid Muhammad Saʿīd al-Ḥakīm, “Miṣbāh al-Minhāj,” vol. 1 (Mu’assasah al-Manār, 1996) 175-176.
