What is the ruling regarding water from which a cat drank immediately after eating impurity, before disappearing?
Chapter on what purification is achieved with regarding water
Al-Mughni
Book of Purification
Primary text
If the cat drank from the water before disappearing, the water becomes impure according to Al-Qadi and Ibn Aqil. They base this on the principle that the water was subject to a certain impurity, similar to if urine had fallen into it.
Supporting text
Abu Al-Hasan Al-Amidi holds that the apparent position within the madhhab of our scholars is that the water remains pure, even if the cat did not disappear first. This is because the Prophet, peace be upon him, pardoned the cat's saliva universally, the rationale being the impossibility of avoiding contact with it. Furthermore, purity was established for its remainder even when the cat disappeared from a small quantity of water that was insufficient to purify its mouth; if it were possible for impurity to affect a large quantity of water, that would be doubt which does not remove the certainty of impurity, thus purity must be attributed to the general concession regarding the cat, which includes the time before disappearance.