Ibn Aqil and some of the Shafi'is said: It is also impure, even if it is a large quantity and its regions are far apart. This is because it is stagnant water, part of which is impure, so all of it is impure, just as if its regions were close together. Furthermore, the altered part is an impure fluid, so it makes whatever it contacts impure, and then what it contacts becomes impure, and so on. If it is agitated and the alteration ceases, the impurity ceases because its cause has vanished.

As for us, we cite the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "When water reaches two qullahs, nothing renders it impure." And his saying (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Water is purifying; nothing renders it impure." The non-altered portion has reached two qullahs and has not been altered, so it falls under the generality of these hadiths. It is also because it is a large quantity of water that has not been altered by impurity, so it remains pure, just as if no part of it had been altered. Furthermore, the cause for the impurity of a large quantity of water is solely alteration; therefore, the impurity is specific to the location of the cause, just as if part of it were altered by a pure substance. Consequently, it is invalid to draw an analogy to the case where the non-altered part is less than two qullahs, because that is a small quantity which becomes impure merely by contacting impurity, unlike a large quantity.

As for the distance or proximity of the regions, there is no weight given to them. The only consideration is whether the non-altered portion is a small or large quantity. Thus, there is no obstacle to ruling the water adjacent to the impurity as pure, evidenced by the case of a dog or a carcass being in it; for the part adjacent to it is pure, and if one denies its purity, then the part adjacent to the adjacent part is pure. Following their logic, it would necessitate that the sea becomes impure if one side of it were altered, as well as flowing water and anything where part of it is altered, which no one asserts. Ahmad has already stated regarding the reservoirs on the road to Mecca: "Nothing renders them impure."

Section: There is no distinction between a small or large quantity of impurity, whether the small amount is perceptible to the eye or not, regarding all types of impurity. The exception is that which is pardoned in small amounts on a garment, such as blood and the like; the ruling for water rendered impure by it follows the rule of pardoning its small amount. Every impurity that renders water impure follows its own ruling, because the impurity of the water arises from the impurity of what fell into it and is a derivative of it, and a derivative takes the ruling of its origin.