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Removing Filth
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Classifications of Impurities
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The filth of the dog and the swine should be washed seven
times, one of them with earth.
The dall for this is the a adth reported by both Imm al-Bukhr
and Imm Muslim . It is the sixth adth recorded in Umdat-ul-Akm:
:
:
"If a dog drinks from the utensil belonging to one of you, wash it
seven times." [ 1 ]
1
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Lesson # 7
172
279
"If a dog licks the utensil belonging to one of you, wash it seven times,
one of them with earth." [ 2 ]
The student of knowledge should take note that the words of Imm Ibn
Qudmah are almost verbatim from the words of Raslullh .
The narration recorded by Imm Muslim reads:
"When a dog licks a utensil belonging to any one of you, (the contents)
should be thrown away and then (the utensil) should be washed seven
times." [ 4 ]
This adth is the foundation for many rulings in Fiqh. Amongst the many
benefits from this adth are:
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Lesson # 7
There is Ijm of the Muslim Ummah that what a dog has licked should be
washed seven times as stated by Ibn azm . [ 5 ] Yet there are some
issues of disagreement amongst the scholars of Islm regarding the process
and status of this procedure.
"When a dog licks a utensil belonging to any one of you, (the contents)
should be thrown away and then (the utensil) should be washed seven
times." [ 9 ]
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Lesson # 7
As for their proof regarding hunting dogs, then it is well known that no one
takes prey out of the mouth of a hunting dog and eats it raw. Rather the prey
is skinned and/or de-feathered, then washed and then cooked. Hence instead
of rejecting the command of Raslullh due to the permissibility of eating
hunted game meat, one should understand the procedure of cleansing game
meat with the command of Raslullh .
The second opinion held by the scholars of Islm is that the entire dog is a
Najis animal, not just the saliva but the entire dog. According to this view even
is a dog brushed against someone, they must wash that place seven times once
with earth. The water that is left over from a dog is also Najis. This is the
opinion of Imm ash-Shfi . The proof for this opinion is the above
quoted a adth:
"When a dog licks a utensil belonging to any one of you, (the contents)
should be thrown away and then (the utensil) should be washed seven
times." [ 10 ]
The adth clearly mentions licking hence; it does not cover the entire dog.
The process of licking transfers saliva therefore this adth does not seem to
cover the entire dogs rather it covers the saliva, which can be transferred by
licking.
The third opinion held by scholars of Islm is that the saliva of the dog is
Najis but the dog itself is not Najis. Hence, a dry dog brushing up against
someone would not contaminate that persons clothing. Yet the wetness from
the saliva, or nose or water leftover from a dog drinking in a bowl would be
Najis. This is the opinion presented by Imm Ibn Qudmah and it is
the relied upon position of the anaf madh-hab. It was attributed to Imm
Amad bin anbal and it was the preference of Shaikh-ul-Islm
Taq-ud-Dn Ibn Taymiyyah . [ 11 ] The proof for this opinion is the
same aforementioned a adth:
"If a dog drinks from the utensil belonging to one of you, wash it
seven times." [ 12 ]
The adth under discussion is clear evidence, the fact that purification is
needed shows that the saliva is Najis. The fact that we are ordered to wash the
dish repeatedly and once with earth shows that a dogs saliva is a major filth.
This is supported by the narration recorded by Imm Muslim:
a Muslim adth # 279
Al-Majm al-Fatw Volume # 21 Page 530.
12
a al-Bukhr adth # 172 and a Muslim adth # 279
10
11
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Lesson # 7
"When a dog licks a utensil belonging to any one of you, (the contents)
should be thrown away and then (the utensil) should be washed seven
times." [ 13 ]
In this adth there is a clear command from Raslullh to discard the
contents of the dish. If the contents were not contaminated with impurities,
this would be wasteful destruction of food or drink. Hence, it is clear from this
adth that it is an obligation to discard the water due to the water being
Najis, unusable for Ibdt (ritual purification) and for dt (customary uses).
And with regards to the dog and the swine there is no disagreement
in the madh-hab that they both are Najis and it is Wjib to wash the
dish contaminated by them seven times, one of them with earth. [ 18 ]
The great researchers of the anbilah such as al-fidh Ibn Jawz [
19 ] and az-Zarkash [ 20 ] accredited this view. And from amongst
a Muslim adth # 279
Shar Sa Muslim Volume # 3 Page # 185.
15 Al-Inf Volume # 1 Page # 310.
16 Shar Muntah al-Irdt Volume # 1 Page # 204.
17 Ghyah al-Muntah Volume # 1 Page # 111.
18 Shar Umdat-ul-Fiqh Volume # 1 Page # 85.
19 At-Tanq Volume # 1 Pages # 52 - 53.
13
14
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Lesson # 7
And the swine is like the dog according of the last opinion (of Imm
ash-Shfi ) . [ 24 ]
This is also the opinion of al-fidh Ibn AbdulBarr al-Mlik who
wrote:
The dall for this opinion is found in the yah from the Qurn when Allh
describes the swine as:
indeed it is impure [ 26 ]
It is clear from the words of Allh that indeed the swine is an extremely
filthy animal. Hence the scholars of Islm have assigned it the highest level of
being Najis, al-Mughallaah. This level of Najsah requires seven washes, one
of them being with earth, like the dog.
This is clearly the stronger opinion since by Ijm of the Muslim Ummah a pig
is filthy, this Ijm was recorded by Ibn azm [ 27 ]. Since there is
Ijm that a pig is filthy, it must be cleansed, and there is no clear adth on the
number of washings, then Qiys must be performed. There is no doubt that in
Islm the swine is a filthier animal than the dog and the great scholars of Islm
have pointed this out. It is permissible for a Muslim to even keep a dog in
certain circumstances (such as hunting, guarding, shepherding etc.) while a
pig can never be raised by Muslims. Hence the Qiys to include the pigs
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Lesson # 7
indeed it is impure [ 28 ]
Is it seven washings of eight?
A report in a Muslim by Abdullh bin Mughaffal
reads:
"If a dog licks the utensil belonging to one of you, wash it seven times
and rub it with earth as the eighth. [ 29 ]
Some of the scholars thought this is contradictory to the reports from Ab
Hurayrah
who reported only seven washings, not eight. Shaikh-ulIslm Ibn Taymiyyah clarifies this issue in his Shar of Umdat-ul-Fiqh:
And the correct opinion is that the earth being the eight is not a
separate washing as (Allh) the most high said: ..there were three,
the fourth of them being their dog.. this was the conclusion of the
scholars of linguistics, they said: If the Ism Fil (actor) is a different
type them the Mafl then it will be add as an additional number. [ 30 ]
Hence, it is seven washing and earth is used in the first, which is the additional
element.
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Lesson # 7