As for those who hold that an impure substance becomes pure through transformation (1), its carcass is pure; accordingly, it need not have been produced from something pure.
Thus, according to the established position of the school, cockroaches found in privies are impure, because they are produced from impurity; according to the second view, however, they are pure (849).
The urine and dung of animals whose meat may be eaten …
His statement, “The urine and dung of animals whose meat may be eaten,” means that they are pure, such as camels, cattle, sheep, rabbits, and the like.
The evidence for this is as follows:
-
The Prophet instructed the people of ʿUraynah to go to the charity camels and drink from their urine and milk (2). He did not instruct them to wash the vessels; had it been impure, he would not have permitted them to drink it, and he would have commanded them to wash the vessels used for it.
-
The Prophet permitted prayer in sheepfolds (3), which are not free of urine and dung.
-
The original presumption is freedom from liability. Whoever claims that anything is impure must produce evidence; the basic ruling is purity.
If it is said: What is the answer to Ibn ʿAbbās’s hadith concerning the story of the two occupants of the graves, in which it says, “As for one of them, he did not conceal himself from urine” (4)? Urine is general, whether the definite article is understood as denoting the genus or total inclusiveness; thus, this indicates that urine is impure.