Short answer
Any natural water: tap, rain, sea, river, well, spring, melted snow or zamzam. In the Hanafi school, water mixed with a little soap or something pure is still fine as long as it is called water and stays thin. Juice, tea and rose water are not valid, and neither is water that already dripped off someone's wudu.
Wudu and ghusl are valid with absolute water (ma' mutlaq). Water mixed with a pure substance remains valid as long as water dominates and it keeps its thinness, even if its colour changes. Liquids pressed from plants, and water that has become something else such as tea or broth, are not valid. Used water (ma' musta'mal) is pure but does not purify, according to the relied view.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Water that has changed a lot through a pure substance it can easily be kept from, such as soap or saffron, no longer purifies.
- Maliki
- Water that changes in colour, taste or smell through a pure substance mixed into it no longer purifies.
- Hanbali
- In the relied view, water changed a lot by a pure substance no longer purifies, close to the Shafi'i view.
Explanation
Allah calls the rain He sends down pure water. When a man asked whether he could make wudu (ablution) with sea water, the Prophet ﷺ said that the sea's water is purifying and what dies in it is lawful. So salt water, hard water and water with a taste or smell from the ground or pipes all count.
Valid for a Hanafi:
- tap water, filtered, bottled or from a tank
- sea water, river water, lake water, rain and melted snow or ice
- well and spring water, even if its taste comes from the minerals in the ground
- water from a heated or chlorinated swimming pool
- water with a little soap, dust, leaves or something pure mixed in, as long as it is still clearly water and runs like water
- zamzam water: see wudu with zamzam
Not valid:
- juice, tea, coffee, milk, broth or vinegar
- rose water and other liquids pressed or distilled from plants
- water so mixed that it is thick or has a new name
- used water: the water that has dripped off limbs in wudu or ghusl. It is pure, so splashes on your clothes are fine, but it cannot be used again for wudu.
- water that has become najis: see najis in water
If you have no valid water within about a mile, or it would harm you, make tayammum instead: see how to make tayammum.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Furqaan 25:48
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَرْسَلَ ٱلرِّيَٰحَ بُشْرًۢا بَيْنَ يَدَىْ رَحْمَتِهِۦ ۚ وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءًۭ طَهُورًۭا ﴿٤٨﴾
And it is He who sends the winds as good tidings before His mercy, and We send down from the sky pure water
Describes rain as pure water, the basis for natural water being purifying.
Sunan Abi Dawud 83
Graded sahih... هو الطهور ماؤه الحل ميتته ...
"Its water is purifying and its dead creatures are lawful."
Allows wudu with sea water, and by extension any natural water.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on water that may and may not be used. Valid and invalid waters, mixed water, and used water.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on water. Kinds of water and the rule of the dominant element.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on water. The Shafi'i view on water changed by a pure substance.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.