Performing Ghusl in a Deep Well

Question

In our village the village council has built a well that is ten feet wide and 20 to 25 feet deep. People go down into it and bathe, among them Muslims as well as Hindus and Christians, since it is a shared well. Some Muslims here say that the ghusl of one who bathes in it is not valid, nor is his prayer valid, nor can he become pure, because those bathing inside the well may be urinating and defecating [there] or cleaning their impure waist-cloth [in it].

Answer

A well or pond ten feet wide will not come under the ruling of flowing water (ma' jari). If a person goes down into it wearing an impure waist-cloth, or there is impurity (najasa) on his body, the well will become impure: neither will the ghusl be valid, nor will it be proper to use its water.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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