Advanced Ecotechnology for Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Reuse - Restorative Redevelopment of Devastated Ecocultural Landscapes - page 382

Islamic law allows beneficial and healthy reuse of wastewater. A pioneering fatwa
(authoritative ruling on Islamic law) on the subject issued by the Council of Leading
Islamic Scholars (CLIS) of Saudi Arabia in 1978 clearly lays out the operating prin-
ciples (Abderrahman 2001).
Impure wastewater can be considered as pure water and similar to the original
pure water, if its treatment using advanced technical procedures is capable of remov-
ing its impurities with regard to taste, color, and smell, as witnessed by honest, spe-
cialized, and knowledgeable experts. Then it can be used to remove body impurities
and for purifying, even for drinking. If there are negative impacts from its direct use
on human health, then it is better to avoid its use, not because it is impure but to avoid
harming human beings. The CLIS prefers to avoid using it for drinking (as possible)
to protect health and not to contradict with human habits.
This fatwa reflects careful attention to Islamic law from learned clerics in a con-
servative society where sharia (legal code based on the Qu'ran and Hadith) is the law
of the land. Other Islamic authorities may be likely to arrive at similar conclusions
regarding water reuse. It is important to note that this fatwa explicitly rejects any
notion of the spiritual impurity of wastewater; rather, the central issue is the protec-
tion of human health, just as in WHO or California reuse standards.
The conclusions of the CLIS may also reflect popular attitudes toward reuse in
predominantly Muslim societies. In Palestine, polling data indicate widespread
acceptance of the concept of reuse for irrigation of food crops among the general
public and farmers provided that the level of treatment protects public health (Al
Khateeb 2001).
Other elements of Islamic law may influence the structure of reuse projects
beyond technical standards of treatment. According to Faruqui (2001), the priority
of water use rights within Islamic law is well established: first, there is the right of
humans to drink or quench their thirst; second, the right of cattle and household
animals; and third, the right of irrigation. The environment has clear and unmistak-
able rights in Islam, as can be seen in the Hadith (Al Bukhari 5505): “He who digs
a well in the desert … cannot prevent the animals from slaking their thirst at this
well.” Furthermore, ownership of water is structured in Islamic law. Full cost recov-
ery of water supply, treatment, storage, and distribution is permitted, as are similar
costs with wastewater (Faruqui 2001). Developers of water resources, however, have
restricted rights within Islamic law to ensure just distribution of water and that the
fundamental right of access to water is not violated (Caponera 2001; Faruqui 2001;
Kadouri, Djebbar, and Nehdi 2001).
Islamic scholars have ruled that the status of reused water is “similar to the
original pure water” if it is sufficiently treated. The complex and varied features
of Islamic law regarding water rights logically apply to reuse of treated wastewater
and will be influential factors in shaping reuse projects in Islamic societies. Also,
the spiritual station of water in Islamic scripture informs the cultural attitudes of all
Muslims toward water.
Through the ancient Muslim practice of ijtihad (inquiry, interpretation, and inno-
vation by Muslim scholars), Islamic societies clearly have the tools to rationally con-
sider reuse of wastewater in light of modern technology. It remains to be seen how
reuse will play out in Iraqi society given the current warfare and political turmoil,