Liquid (mai'): purification by liquids, their contamination and cleansing

المائع

Mai', in lexicon, is a liquid or a melting thing, and its technical sense does not depart from this ¹. Among its rulings: purification by liquids. Most jurists hold that only absolute water lifts the minor ritual impurity and removes physical impurity; others allow any pure liquid that cleans ². On contamination, the Malikis, Shafi'is and, in the stronger narration, the Hanbalis hold that any liquid other than absolute water becomes impure on touching an impurity; the Hanafis and one narration of Ahmad hold that a liquid is impure only by what makes water impure; Ibn Abidin says the stronger view is that all liquids are like water ³. Most jurists hold that a contaminated liquid cannot be cleansed, unlike oils and ghee which some say can be washed; mercury is excepted by some Shafi'is and Hanbalis ⁴. The Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis forbid using the fat of a carrion for anything, including lamps; the Shafi'is allow lighting with contaminated oil outside the mosque, with reluctance ⁵.