Praise be to Allaah.
With regard to reusing waste water after
it has been purified, a statement has been issued by the Council of Senior
Scholars, the text of which is as follows:
Praise be to Allah alone and may the
blessings of Allah be upon the one after whom there is no Prophet, Muhammad,
and upon his family and Companions.
During the thirteenth session of the Council
of Senior Scholars, which was held in the latter half of the month of
Shawwaal 1398 AH in the city of al-Taa’if, and based on a question from the
editor of the Muslim News newspaper of Cape Town, which was submitted
to the Muslim World League and passed on by them to the Council of Senior
Scholars, to research the matter and issue the statement of the Council on
it:
The Muslims in that place face problems
because of what the Council of Industrial International Projects is planning
to do of producing clean drinking water from waste water, and they are
asking about the ruling on using this water for wudoo’ after it has been
purified.
Based on that, the Council examined the view
concerning that expressed by the Standing Committee for Academic Research
and Issuing Fatwas. The Council also studied the speech of His Highness the
Minister of Agriculture and Water, no. 1/1299, dated 30/5/1398 AH. After
researching and discussing the matter, the Council determined the
following:
Based on what the scholars have said about
water of abundant quantity which has altered because of contamination with
impurity, and that if the impurity is removed or pure water is added to it,
or the impurity is removed by natural means with the passage of time or by
the effects of sun or wind on it and so on, then the ruling of impurity
ceases because the reason for it is no longer there.
Impurity in water can be removed by many
means, and the modern technical means used to purify water are regarded as
being among the best means of purification. A great deal of effort and
technical methods may be used to rid water of impurities, as testified and
approved by specialists and experts in that field, whose expertise is well
established.
Hence the Council thinks that this water is
pure after it has been purified completely, in that it goes back to its
original state in which there is no sign of alteration caused by impurity in
its taste, colour or smell, and it is permissible to use it to get rid of
impurities and dirt. One may use it to purify oneself (wudoo’ and ghusl),
and it is also permissible to drink it so long as no harm to one's health
will result from using it, in which case one should refrain from that so as
to preserve one's health and ward off harm, not because it is impure.
The Committee affirms that if it is possible
to use something else instead of this to drink, that is safer for health and
so as to ward off harm, and to keep away from something that may be
off-putting.
And Allah is the source of strength. May
Allah send blessings upon Allah Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and
Companions. End quote.
Council of Senior Scholars