Islam Critiqued is concerned with E.Coli; Clean, pure, fresh Islamic water?

In answer to the video "Muhammad said, "Nothing Makes Water Impure"

Again, this youtuber makes a mountain of superficial parallels between completely disconnected events and issues then runs away with his hasty conclusions. I wont bother much with his analysis per se and instead explain the stance of the Quran and the traditions on the issue of ritual purity and the purity of water itself. This will be more than enough to dismiss all his delirious claims as mere wishful thinking.

Islamic pre-worship rituals symbolize mental and physical preparation before the momentous instant of addressing the Creator, like a transitional time from the hustle and bustle of life to the remembrance and glorification of Allah. It isnt some kind of ritualistic obsession or constant concern with hygiene. Without water for ablution one may perform "tayammum" which is touching the ground/earth/sand then passing over certain body parts. This means that ritual purity isnt due to the inherant condition of water, rather it is aqcuired through obedience to a symbolic command, with or without water. To further corroborate on the symbolism of pre-prayer rituals, one may even pray without tayammum prior in extreme cases where neither water nor clean earth is found 2:239,4:101-3. This is not something new and is present in the previous scriptures. Throughout the book of Leviticus in the HB, the speech is interrupted every now and then in between very intricate purity rituals, reminding the higher reason for the practice

"You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy".

Najasa, or ritual uncleanness, isnt therefore a state of physical uncleanness. It may be the case, for example if one would come in contact with feces, but not necessarily. On the other hand, tahara or ritual purity, isnt a state of physical cleanness. One may be wearing clothes whose dirty condition isnt caused by something impure (dust, dirt from the ground, grease etc).

The prophet however laid great stress on general body hygiene, declaring carelessness in the matter a sin, such as using the restrooms inappropriately and causing one's self to be constantly soiled in urine. This reveals a lack of care not only for oneself but for other people using the same space and society at large with whom one comes into physical contact. This condemnation of course does not include those affected by a medical condition, as per the prophet's own words, and neither is it some kind of obsession or exaggeration with hygiene

"from Um Qays Ibn Mihsan that she brought a baby boy of her’s who was not yet eating food to the Messenger of Allah (Sallalahu Alayhi Was-Sallam) and he sat him in his arms and he urinated on his garment, so the Messenger of Allah called for some water and sprinkled over it but did not wash it".

This is simple pragmatism. As anyone whose had male children knows, or who was in close contact with them, including while playing, carrying or cleaning them, when they suddenly urinate, the urine generally spreads dropplets on a wide surface. And this is something that happens very often at this stage of their development. Cleaning thoroughly the whole surface everytime, be it one's clothes or other object would be cumbersome. Girls' urine on the other hand tends to spill onto a narrower area, easier to clean, hence the recommendation to clean that specific soiled area thoroughly 

"Water should be sprinkled on the urine of a baby boy, and the urine of a baby girl should be washed away". 

It speaks of washing away the girl's urine, not the entire clothes on which it fell. However when a baby boy starts eating a more varied diet, meaning at a later stage when such urine accidents are less frequent, and that in addition the quantity of urine has increased, then the ruling of conveniency is lifted and a more thorough washing is prescribed.

 When he said to eat with the right hand exclusively it was because the left was reserved for cleansing oneself. This is again, far from being a ritualistic obsession, a pragmatic approach to general hygiene.

Some reports depict the prophet discouraging excessive usage of water and over washing and cleaning oneself, while performing the pre-worship rituals. He also refrained from doing so himself. He said that wastefulness applies to ablution

"even if you were on the banks of a flowing river".

Also he did not lay strict stress on the kind of water to be used for ritual purity. As depicted earlier, ritual purity isnt caused by the inherant quality of the water. This doesnt mean one is to sacrifice common sense and basic hygiene by using any kind of water regardless of its condition to perform the ablutions. So although the prophet didnt lay great stress on the kind of water to be used, he did explain that it shouldnt be used if it is perceptibly altered in its smell, color or texture as reported in a prophetic saying 

"Water cannot be rendered impure by anything except something which changes its smell, taste and colour".

This is the least one would expect from the prophet who laid great stress on general body hygiene. This hadith has been quoted in its complete version. Some scholars think that this version might be a conflation of different ahadith, but in any case it still shows how the report was understood because there are other ahadith that define the conditions for water to be deemed pure, meaning not all water is pure. It is also to be noted that the report has for background a believer asking the prophet about a particular well, the large well of Budaa, whose water was not stagnant, and the person was unsure whether the filth accidentally carried into it due to flooding and rain affected its purity. The citation is also found in the context of believers coming across a large body of water (the Arabic also includes the meaning of rivulet) in which a dead animal was found. The people naturally refrained from using this water until the prophet allowed them to do so. In both cases the people were being too cautious considering the flow and volume of water involved.

What was said until now was enough to dismiss the mindless rant of this youtuber, i will continue with other interesting issues in relation to purity.

The purification of the garments 74:4, another pre-requisite of religious rituals, similarily contains an element of symbolism as seen with the classical Arabic metaphor of garment purity being equal with moral uprightness. Beyond this symbolism, purification of the garments encourages general rectitude. A neat and clean, as well as pure appearance helps one to remain mentally uplifted everyday, and gives the correct introduction of one's personality to others. This is a reason why, as a side note, the prophet is reported to have avoided both in his private and religious life, foul smelling foods and used to perfume himself on all occasions, always seeking to be presentable so as to not offend neither the humans nor the angels, especially in a religious gathering context

7:31"O children of Adam, take your adornment at every place of prayer. Eat and drink, but not to excess. Verily, He does not love those who commit excess".

Here again however, just as above, there is no need to over exert oneself and be obsessed with the cleanness of one's clothes prior to engaging in the prayer ritual. A case in point is the following, and there is no shame in speaking of it. People do not always undress entirely naked during sexual intercourse. His wife Aisha said 

"I never saw the Messenger of Allah’s (Allah bless him & give him peace) private parts”. 

Naturally then, it might happen that visible traces of sexual fluids remain on one's clothes, especially if those clothes are wide and ample as is the case in many cultures. Someone asked Umm Habibah, the wife of the Prophet: 

"Did the Messenger of Allah ever offered prayer in a garment in which he had sexual intercourse?" She said: "Yes, if there was nothing noxious on it". 

So even though one must perform a ritual bath prior to prayer in that case, one's clothes do not need to be entirely washed because of a few traces. The removal of these visible impurities is enough to purify the clothes again. This happened to the prophet, as it must have happened to countless prophets and regular people before, and after him. The prophet was a saint, but remained entirely human, living in according to what he thought was the most suited behavior of his time and space, so long as it did not contravene the principles of higher morality and pragmatism.

Unfortunately nothing survived of the prophets Moses, David or Solomon's standards of behavior in similar circumstances for comparison.

It is interesting to note the manner in which God instilled an etiquette of humility when about to communicate with the divine, that would later forever be perpetuated. God, as He was about to impart divine wisdom, prophecy, miracles to Musa told him to be aware of the sacredness of his surrounding and humble himself by taking off his sandals

20:12"Surely I am your Lord, therefore put off your shoes; surely you are in the sacred valley, Tuwa".

As stated in the HB

Ex3:5"Do not draw near here. Take your shoes of your feet, because the soil upon which you stand is holy soil".

God himself required it, not because of mourning and neither humility, as is sometimes understood in Judaism but

"because the soil upon which you stand is holy soil".

God does certainly mind the issue of impurities desecrating a place Holy due to being a location of communication with the divine. The prophet Muhammad also invoked the presence of impurities as a reason to take off the shoes in congregation. These things matter to God and, just as one wouldn't present himself soiled with feces in front of any wordly respectable figure, one similarily does his best to avoid doing so when about to address the Creator.

Muslims take their shoes off because they emulate their prophet who preserved the way of his predecessors. Of course the law isnt rigid, and has a spirit, like every divine ordinance, hence the prophet Muhammad's flexibility in the matter, depending on the circumstances. He sometimes prayed with shoes off, or on but in the latter case always made sure his shoes had no impurities on them.