What is the ruling on using liquids that are mixed with something else (Mudaaf) for purification?
Chapter on what purification is achieved with regarding water
Al-Mughni
Book of Purification
Primary text
Purification is not achieved by what is termed 'Mudaaf' (added/mixed liquid), which falls into three categories. The first category—where there is no difference of opinion regarding its invalidity for purification—includes liquids extracted from pure things (like rose water or clove water) or liquids mixed with a pure substance that changes its name (like dye, ink, vinegar, or broth), or liquids boiled with a pure substance changing their nature (like boiled bean water). Purification is invalid using these, with no known exception except for a narration from Ibn Abi Layla and Al-Asamm regarding extracted waters, stating they purify from major impurity and raise minor impurity.
Supporting text
The second category of Mudaaf is when a pure substance alters one of the water's attributes (taste, color, or smell) but abstinence from the contaminant was possible, such as bean water or saffron water. The established opinion is that purification is invalid with such water, aligning with the view of Malik, Shafi'i, and Ishaq, and is considered the stronger view among the Hanbali scholars. The evidence for invalidity is that the command {If you find no water, then betake yourselves to clean earth} (Quran 4:43) implies this water cannot substitute for pure water, and the Prophet's statement about clean earth being sufficient when water is absent implies its absence renders the alternative necessary. The third category of Mudaaf is that for which purification is valid unequivocally. This includes water added to its source (like river or well water), water contaminated by unavoidable substances (like algae, tree leaves, or sulfur at the bottom), substances sharing water's properties (like soil, if it doesn't render the water thick, or sea salt), and water changed by adjacent, non-mixing substances (like oil or hard aromatics that do not dissolve).