Abu Thawr and al-Muzani said: He does not pray in any of them, just like the vessels. Abu Hanifa and al-Shafi'i said: He exercises Ijtihad regarding them, as is their opinion regarding vessels and the Qibla. Our position is that it is possible for him to perform his mandatory obligation with certainty without any hardship, so it is incumbent upon him, just as if pure water were indistinguishable from clean water, or as if he forgot one prayer from a day and does not know which one it is.

The difference between this and impure vessels is twofold: First, using an impure item results in one becoming impure, and it prevents the validity of his prayer in the present and the future, whereas this is not the case [for garments]. Second, an impure garment is permitted for prayer if he finds no other [garment], while impure water is the opposite.

The difference between this and the Qibla is from several aspects: First, uncertainty regarding the Qibla occurs frequently, so considering certainty is burdensome and is thus dropped to avoid hardship, whereas this is not the case here. Second, the uncertainty here occurred due to his own negligence, because it would have been possible for him to mark the impure garment or wash it, whereas that is not possible regarding the Qibla. Third, there are indicators for the Qibla, such as the stars, the sun, the moon, and others, so Ijtihad in seeking it is valid, and the evidence for locating it is strengthened such that the possibility of error remains only a weak doubt, unlike the garments.

Section: If he does not know the number of impure items, he prays in whatever he is certain is a pure garment. If this becomes frequent and burdensome, Ibn 'Aqil said: He practices Ijtihad, according to the more correct of the two opinions, to avoid hardship. The second [opinion] is that he does not practice Ijtihad, because this occurs very rarely, so it is not assigned a separate ruling, and the general rule applies to it.

Section: If he arrives at water and a child, a disbeliever, or a corrupt person (fasiq) informs him of its impurity, he is not obligated to accept their report because they are not among those whose testimony or narration is accepted, so he is not obligated to accept their word, like a child or a madman. If the informant is an adult, sane, Muslim, whose corruption is unknown, and he specifies the cause of the impurity, his report must be accepted, whether the informant is a man or a woman, free or a slave, known to be righteous or of unknown status, because it is a religious report, similar to reporting the entry of the time for prayer. If he does not specify the cause,