Can I Use the Water of a Well in Which an Insect Has Died?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

My well water slightly smelled rotten, at first, I thought it was some kind of underground gas so I keep use it to purify myself (istinja). But I felt uneasy afterward, so I checked my well. I found a dead whip-scorpion, actually the dead insect didn’t smell rotten but I think the bacteria from it spread over the well water causing the bad odor. Was my well water pure? When I use it to purify myself, was that lawful? Thank you so much

Answer:

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Yes, your ablution (wudu) using the water of your well was valid. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

The death of an insect, even as big as a whip scorpion (uropygi) or a real scorpion, will not deprive water from its purifying quality. [ibid]

The reason for this is that these creatures are not considered to have flowing blood.

We are not denying the fact that these creatures have blood. We are simply denying the fact that when they are wounded, blood will gush from them. [Tahtawi, Hashya ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah]

The Messenger of Allah (Blessings and Peace be upon him) has said: ” O Salman, any food or drink in which a creature with no flowing blood has fallen into and died in it remains permissible to eat, to drink, and to use for wudu.” [Bayhaqi]

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam

[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.

Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.

He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.

He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.