ill or on a journey, or if any of you has come from relieving himself, or you have had contact with women, and you cannot find water, then seek clean earth for purification” [al-Ma'idah 5:6]. The point of evidence is that Allah, Exalted is He, prescribed dry ablution for the sick in order to protect them from harm. Thus, He diverted them from using water—which may harm them in cold weather, during illness, and in similar circumstances—to dry ablution.

His statement, “such as poison and the like”: Poison is forbidden, yet it is not impure. Rather, it is pure in itself, but forbidden because of its harmfulness. The same applies to wine: it is forbidden because of the harm it causes to the mind, body, and society; nevertheless, according to the stronger view, it is pure, since there is no evidence that it is impure. This has previously been discussed in detail, along with its proofs (1).

Poison is sometimes used as medicine. There are mild types of poison that are mixed into certain medicines and used therapeutically. The scholars have explicitly stated that this is permissible, provided it is known to be free of harm. Thus, if certain medicines are mixed with poisonous substances in a manner that involves no harm, they are permissible, because we have an important legal principle: a ruling revolves around its effective cause, being present when it is present and absent when it is absent. Therefore, if poison, or something containing poison, is used in a manner that does not involve