Why Is It Permissible to Use Water Mixed with Soap for Wudu?
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
In Mukhtasar Quduri and other books it says it is permitted to do wudu with water mixed with soap or saffron. However i have also read that wudu is not permitted with water in which one or two attributes have changed. Surely water mixed with soap or saffron would change the colour and taste, and probably smell. Could you please clarify how to understand this? Jazakallah khair.
Answer
Changes in color, smell, or taste are of no consequence when it comes to solids.
It is only when the mixed water becomes too viscous and sticky to flow that this water will lose its purifying quality. [ibid]
The reason for this ruling is that it is impossible to prevent water from being mixed with foreign elements. Thus, as long as mixed water can still be called “water,” it retains its purifying quality. Soapy water and Saffron water are still called water just like spring water and well water are still called water despite all the dirt in them. [Marghinani, Hidaya]
Allah, Most High, says: “It is not Allah’s Will to burden you, but to purify you and complete His favour upon you, so perhaps you will be grateful.” [5.6]
Water mixed with liquids
The criteria you have mentioned in your question apply only to water mixed with liquids (such as milk or vinegar). It is only when water is mixed with a liquid that the changes in color, smell, or taste will be of significance in removing the purifying quality of water. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]
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.
