The Ruling on Performing Wudu with Water from a Pool and the Categories of Water

Question:
Abu Mansur from 'Arar says: Honorable Shaykh, during the spring and rainy seasons, we go on desert trips and need water at certain times. We pass by a pool of water and perform wudu from it for all the obligatory prayers. Is this action valid, and what are the categories of water?

Answer:
Yes, the matter is valid. If you pass by water and perform wudu in preparation for prayer, that is a good thing and you will be rewarded for it. However, if the time for prayer has arrived and you have no water, and the water is far from you such that it cannot be obtained except at a cost, then if you are performing tayammum with dust, Allah the Exalted said: But if you perform wudu in anticipation of the prayer and in preparation for it, you will be rewarded for that, especially if the time is near. As for performing wudu at an early time when the time may be long, you are not required to do that. But if the time for prayer arrives, if there is water near you, you perform wudu. And if the water is cold, then you perform tayammum with pure earth. Yes. The second part is the categories of water. The categories of water, according to the correct view, are two: purifying and impure. The purifying is that which remains in its created state, which has not been changed by impurity. That is, it is that which remains in its created state. Or that which is changed by something pure, even if it does not remain in its created state but is changed by something pure; this does not cause the loss of its purifying nature. It has not become impure; it has not been changed by impurity. This is the correct classification. May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and may He make Islam and the Muslims happy. This session, which was recorded with Honorable Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan, a member of the Senior Scholars Committee and a member of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, has ended. Thank you to his eminence. Thank you, you gentlemen. The meeting will be renewed in this program, if Allah wills. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.