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— “Its Water Purifies and Its Dead are Lawful”:
Abû Hurayrah relates that
Allah’s Messenger said about the sea: “Its water purifies and its dead are
lawful.”
This hadîth is related in
al-Muwatta’, Sunan al-Tirmidhî, Sunan al-Nasâ’î, Sunan Abî Dawûd, Sunan Ibn
Mâjah, Musnad Ahmad, and Sunan al-Daraqutnî, among others.
It is an authentic hadîth.
Al-Bukhârî was among the many scholars who declared it so. Al-Tirmidhî
asked al-Bukhârî about this hadîth, mentioning its chain of transmission.
Al-Bukhârî replied that it was authentic. [al-Tirmidhî, al-`Ilal al-Kabîr
(1/136) and al-Zayla`î, Nasb al-Râyah (1/96)]
Al-Tirmidhî declared it “a
good and authentic hadîth”. [Sûnan al-Tirmidhî (1/100-101)] Other scholars
who authenticated it were Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibbân, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn
Hazm, al-Bayhaqî, and al-Daraqutnî.
The meaning of the hadîth:
Al-Shâfi`î said: “This
hadîth contains half the knowledge of purification.” [Talkhîs al-Habîr
(1.24)] He may have said this because purification is of two kinds –
purification with water and purification with soil – and this hadîth deals
with the first. Another possibility is that he meant that purification
takes place either on land or at sea, and this hadîth deals with purification
at sea. And Allah knows best. In any case, there can be no doubt about the
importance of this hadîth for matters pertaining to purification.
This hadîth has a story
behind it. A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: “O
Messenger of Allah, we go out to sea and carry with us little water. If we
were to use it for our ablutions, we would go thirsty. May we perform our
ablutions with sea water?”
The Prophet (peace be upon
him) replied: “Its water purifies and its dead are lawful.”
When the Prophet (peace be
upon him) said “Its water purifies…”, he was indicating that sea water is
not only pure in and of itself, but that it is suitable for the
purification of other things.
When he said: “…and its
dead are lawful”, he meant that the animals of the sea are permissible to
eat without having to be slaughtered. The fact that all seafood is lawful
is established by this hadîth as well as by others.
Its legal implications:
This hadîth indicates the
ruling that seawater can be used just like fresh water for all types of
purification. There have been two opinions on this matter.
The first opinion that has
been held by the vast majority of people of knowledge from the time of the
Companions onwards, is that seawater has the power to purify and may be
used for all types of purification, even when fresh water is abundantly
available. This was the opinion of the Companions Abû Bakr, Ibn `Abbâs, and
`Umar and has also been attributed to `Uqbah b. `?mir and `Abd Allah b.
`Amr. Among the Successors and early jurists who expressed this view were
`Atâ’, Ibn Sîrîn, al-Hasan al-Basrî. `Ikrimah, Tâ’ûs, Ibrahîm al-Nakha`î,
Sufyân al-Thawrî, and al-Awzâ’î. It was the opinion of the four imams, Abû
Hanifah, Mâlik, al-Shâfî`î, and Ahmad, as well as that of Ibn Hazm.
There are many pieces of evidence that support this opinion:
1. At the forefront of this evidence is the hadîth under
discussion. It is a clear, unambiguous statement to this effect and as
such, a decisive and indisputable piece of evidence.
2. Another piece of evidence comes in Allah’s statement:
“…if any of you comes from reliving himself or having had intimate contact
with women and does not find water, then perform tayammum…” [Sûrah
al-Mâ’idah: 6] In this verse, the word water is mentioned in an absolute
sense without any qualification. It therefore must be assumed to mean all
types of water in the absence of evidence indicating otherwise.
3. Another argument that can be advanced is that since the
food and game of the sea is lawful to eat, its water must be pure and have
the ability to purify.
Some scholars have claimed
that there is consensus on this issue. The Mâlikî jurist Ibn Juzayy writes:
“Untainted water is water that remains on its original nature. There is
consensus on the fact that it is pure and has the power to purify,
regardless of whether it is sweet or salty and regardless whether its
source is the sea, the rain, or the Earth.” [al-Qawânîn al-Fiqhiyyah (p.
44)]
However, this claim of
unanimity is incorrect. Ibn al-Mundhir writes: “I know of no disagreement
from the people of knowledge whom I have met or even heard of, that what is
used for purification fulfills the requirements for purification – except
when it comes to seawater. There is some indication of disagreement on this
matter from some of the earliest Muslims.” [al-Awsat (6/246)]
Ibn `Abd al-Barr writes:
“The vast majority of scholars and jurists from all lands are agreed that
seawater has the ability to purify and may be used for the purpose of
ritual ablutions, except for what is attributed to `Abd Allah b. `Umar b.
al-Khattâb and `Abd Allah b. `Amr b. al-`?s that they disliked performing
ablutions with seawater. However, none of the great jurists followed them
in this opinion or even paid attention to it.” [al-Tamhîd (16/221)]
It is related that `Amr b.
al-`?s said: “Sea water is not sufficient for either the ritual ablutions
or the ritual bath. Under the sea is fire, then water, then more fire.”
This statement is related in Sunan al-Bayhaqî (4/334) and the Musannaf of
Ibn Abî Shaybah (1/122) with an authentic chain of transmission.
Ibn Abî Shaybah also
relates with an authentic chain of transmission that Ibn `Umar said: “I
prefer to perform tayammum than to perform ablutions with seawater.”
There are a few narrations
attributing this opinion to others, but those narrations are weak.
As for the evidence for
this opinion, there is a hadîth that quotes the Prophet (peace be upon him)
as saying: “No one should go to sea except someone setting out for the
greater or lesser pilgrimage or setting out to fight for the sake of Allah,
because under the sea is fire and under the fire there is a sea.” [Sunan
Abî Dâwûd (2489), Sunan al-Bayhaqî (4/334), al-Daylamî’s Firdaws (5/149),
and Sunan Sa`îd b. Mansûr (2/186)]
Abû Dâwûd says: “This
hadîth is extremely weak. Abû `Abd Allah and Bashîr (two people in its
chain of transmission) are both unknown.”
The argument that is
advanced on the basis of this weak hadîth is as follows: The sea is a
covering over Hell and that which is a covering of something despicable
cannot be a means for purification and mercy. This can be compared to the
water covering the land of the people of Thamûd whom Allah destroyed with
His punishment, since the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade us from performing
ablutions with the water of Thamûd.
This argument, of course,
fails, simply because it is built upon a very weak hadîth. Even if the
hadîth had been valid, the argument would still not hold up. As Ibn Qudâmah
says: “If they understood that the ocean is full of fire right now, then
this goes against what we see with our own eyes. If they meant that the
ocean will become fire in the future, this is in no way prevents us from
performing ablutions in it while it is still water.” [al-Mughnî (1/23)]
Some benefits of this
hadîth:
1. It shows the intelligence and legal sense of the
questioner and gives us a good example of how a question should be asked.
The questioner began by explaining his situation. He described how he goes
to sea and has little fresh water available to him. This shows that his
question was not merely hypothetical. He needed a practical answer to
address a situation that he actually had to confront in his life. He
mentioned what he felt could possibly have an effect on the legal ruling
and then asked if he could perform ablutions with seawater.
It is important for a
questioner to phrase his question well, mentioning all the details, and
present it in a way that shows his need for an answer.
2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied with “Its water
purifies”. This statement is rich in meaning. He had been asked: “May we
perform our ablutions with sea water?” He could have simply answered with:
“Yes”.
However the Prophet (peace
be upon him) answered the way he did for a number of reasons.
- It is clear from his answer that the reason it is
permissible to perform ablutions with seawater is that seawater is pure. It
is not just a concession for seamen born of necessity.
- His answer also shows that seawater is not only good for
ablutions, but for all types of purification.
- His answer clearly states the reason why ablutions are
permissible with seawater. This reason is its ability to purify. This shows
us that all water that can purify is acceptable in Islamic Law, regardless
of its source, including river water, lake water, and well water.
3. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also mentioned that it is
permissible to eat aquatic animals that die without being slaughtered. This
ruling does not apply to land animals that die in the water. Now, the
questioner asked only about performing ablutions with seawater, but the
Prophet (peace be upon him) volunteered this additional information. There
were good reasons for him to do so. Since the questioner was a seaman, he
was in need of this information. Also, it was quite likely that the
questioner did not know the ruling on the matter, since he did not even
know the ruling on seawater, even though water is generally known to have
the ability to purify.
People of knowledge have
determined from this incident and others like it that it is permissible for
a scholar to volunteer information that was not asked if he feels that the
questioner is in need of that information.
For this reason, al-Bukhârî
entitled a chapter of his Sahîh: “Whoever Answers a Questioner with More
than He was Asked About”. In that chapter, al-Bukhârî cites the hadîth
where a man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked him: “What
does a pilgrim wear?” To this question, the Prophet (peace be upon him)
replied: “A pilgrim may not wear a shirt, a turban, a pair of pants, or a
cloak. He may not wear a garment died with wars or saffron. If he cannot
find sandals to wear, then he may wear leather socks, but he must cut them
so they will be below the ankles.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (1/42)]
Al-Bukhârî realized that
the man did not ask about what he should do if he could not find sandals,
but the prophet (peace be upon him) volunteered to the man this additional
information because he saw that the man needed it. Also, the Prophet (peace
be upon him) was subtly indicating to the questioner what his question
should have been. Instead of asking about what he should wear, he should
have asked about what he should not wear, since that is a question that can
be answered in brief.
Ibn al-Qayyim writes: “It
is permissible for a mufti (a person who issues legal rulings) to answer a
questioner with more than what that questioner asked about. This is the
best way to advise him, teach him, and provide him with guidance. Whoever
criticizes such an approach is weak in knowledge, narrow-minded, and a poor
advisor.” [I`lâm al-Muwaqqi`în (4/158-159)]
Scholars of jurisprudence
concur that the answer to a legal question should always be according to
the question asked. This is, no doubt, correct. Nevertheless, this does not
mean that the mufti cannot offer additional information. It merely means
that the answer must at least address the specific matter that was asked
about.
4. This answer shows that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
was as generous with his knowledge as he was with his wealth and his
person. This was one of his many good qualities.
5. This hadîth also shows us that it is permissible to go to
sea for worldly matters like commerce, not just for pilgrimage or for
battle, as long as the way is safe. Allah says: “He is the one who
facilitates your movement on land and at sea.” [Sûrah Yûnus: 22]
Location: Islam Today
By: Sheikh Salman al-Oadah
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