What is the ruling on performing ritual purification (Wudu or Ghusl) using water drawn from gold or silver utensils?
Chapter on Utensils
Al-Mughni
Book of Purification
Primary text
There are two established scholarly views regarding the validity of purification performed using water from gold or silver vessels. The sounder view, held by Al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, Ibn al-Mundhir, and the Ashab al-Ra'y, is that the purification is valid. This is because the act of purification itself and the water used are not intrinsically connected to the prohibition concerning the vessel; it is likened to performing purification in usurped land. This differs from prayer in usurped land because the movements of prayer involve occupying the property, whereas the actions of Wudu—washing and wiping—are not an application to the vessel itself but occur after the water has been lifted from it.
Supporting text
The alternative view, preferred by Abu Bakr, holds that the purification is invalid because the prohibited item (the vessel) is being utilized in an act of worship, similar to prayer in usurped land.