What is the authenticity of the hadith of the two qullahs? And how do we reconcile it with the hadith of the well of Budha'ah?

The questioner : Did you verify the hadith of the two qullahs?

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : Regarding the fiqh of the hadith.

The Shaykh : Naturally, the fiqh of any hadith cannot be derived without considering and examining the other related hadiths concerning the topic. One of the well-known hadiths is the hadith of the well of Budha'ah . Therefore, it is necessary to look at both hadiths together; it is not permissible to look at the hadith of the two qullahs alone, nor at the hadith of the well alone, but at both together. If that is the case, then the hadith of the two qullahs is clear in its meaning, though it is not clear in its generality and comprehensiveness, unlike the hadith of the well, which requires some clarification and explanation . What does "nothing makes it impure" mean? Its explanation is in another narration that is not authentic in terms of its chain, but there is consensus on acting upon it, which states: . Therefore, his (peace be upon him) statement means that it remains in its state of purity, and in its absolute sense, if you see it, you would say of it: it is water. If this is the meaning of the hadith, and it is certainly so, then we return to look at the hadith of the two qullahs . Is it in its absolute sense, meaning a container that has space for more than two qullahs, let us say space for four qullahs of water?

The questioner : How much is a qullah?

The Shaykh : It contains... I don't remember, perhaps ten tenkas or something like that; my study is far away. Yes, perhaps from a scientific perspective, I am not concerned with the issue, but this is... the point is, this container that holds four qullahs of water has two qullahs of water in it. The hadith says: if the water is two qullahs, it does not carry impurity. Do you see the impurity that, if it falls into this water amounting to two qullahs, remains pure and carries the impurity, meaning the impurity does not overcome it? And as I say on many occasions, let us use the Syrian expression "ala'iyah" (a term for a large quantity), this container holds four qullahs, and it has two qullahs of pure, clean water. If two qullahs of urine fall into it, would it be said that it does not carry impurity, or that it did not carry impurity? I do not think anyone would say, based on the apparent text of this hadith, "if the water is two qullahs, it does not carry impurity." This is clear. Now, let us go from top to bottom, and let us say instead of two qullahs of urine, one qullah, instead of one qullah, half a qullah, and so on. What is the proportion of impurity that, if it falls into the two qullahs, does not make it impure, acting upon this hadith? As for saying any amount of impurity, no one says that. So what is the amount of impurity that, if it falls into the water of two qullahs, makes it impure? Of course, it cannot be said that the proportion is fixed, whether we define it as a little or a lot of impurity. Why? Because the types of impurity differ in their effect. For example, if urine falls in, a little urine will not affect its change, as if impure blood falls in, for example. A little impure blood changes this water quickly, and a lesser proportion than the urine, due to the fact that urine matches the water in color. So here, a person can imagine many possibilities and many, many forms regarding the quantity of impurity, on one hand, and the type of impurity, on the other hand. So what is the ruling in that case? We will find ourselves compelled to turn to the hadith of the well, which governs the hadith of the two qullahs. So we will say: the impurity that fell into the two qullahs and did not make it impure is what the hadith indicated, "water is pure," meaning that the water of the two qullahs remained pure, did not change, did not change in any of the three types. If it remains pure, otherwise it becomes impure. Is that clear up to here?

The questioner : Is this clear up to here?

The Shaykh : Okay, let us now go in the exact opposite direction. The water is two qullahs, it does not carry impurity. We understood that it is not in its absolute sense. Is that clear?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Yes, water less than two qullahs. Water less than two qullahs, a drop of urine falls in it, does it become impure? According to the hadith of the two qullahs, it becomes impure, but according to the hadith of the well, it did not become impure. Why? Because—excuse me—the hadith of the well did not become impure. Why? Because it gave us a rule that water in which impurity falls, as long as it does not cease to be absolute water, and that is by not changing any of its three attributes, it is pure, and nothing makes it impure. Therefore, it becomes completely clear to us that the hadith of the well, just as it governs the hadith of the two qullahs in terms of clarification and explanation that it is not in its absolute sense, so it also governs the hadith of the two qullahs in terms of its opposite implication. The opposite implication is that if it did not reach two qullahs, it becomes impure, no matter how little the impurity that fell in it is. But the hadith of the well of Budha'ah denies that and says: as long as none of its three attributes change. By this, it becomes clear that the hadith of the two qullahs is not suitable, in terms of fiqh, to be a principle and a rule, unlike the hadith of the well, which is the principle and the rule. And whatever is like that among the hadiths, one of them governs the other, and it is the one that restricts, clarifies, and explains it. And finally, we say that it appears that the hadith of the two qullahs was issued in response to a specific incident, not for a comprehensive, continuous rule. Therefore, it does not have a fixed, stable ruling until the Day of Resurrection, but this ruling belongs to the hadith of the well mentioned above.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. You have relieved our hearts, because we added... the report from the Shafi'is.

The Shaykh : Yes, this problem does not necessitate acting upon a hadith just because it is authentic. As for the hadith in al-Bukhari and Muslim , do we say it? Of course, it is not said, because this is abrogated...

The questioner : Is this hadith specific, or a response to a specific issue? Is it a possibility, or is it a possibility for reconciliation?

The Shaykh : A possibility for reconciliation. Yes; because the question arises here: what is the benefit of the hadith? The answer: you have not heard it.