who was an idolatress (1). All of this indicates that whatever the disbelievers handle is pure.

As for the hadith of Abu Tha‘labah al-Khushani, in which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Do not eat from them unless you can find no other vessels; then wash them and eat from them” (2), it indicates that it is preferable to avoid using them. However, many scholars understood this hadith to refer to people known to come into contact with impurities, such as by eating pork and the like. They said that the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited eating from their vessels unless no others could be found; in that case, they should be washed before eating from them (3). This interpretation is sound and accords with the principles of Islamic law.

His statement, “and their clothing,” means that their clothing is permissible to use. This includes both what they manufacture and what they wear. The garments they make are permissible, and we do not say, “Perhaps they wove them on an impure loom,” or, “Perhaps they dyed them with an impure dye,” because the basic presumption is permissibility and purity. Likewise, garments that they have worn are permissible for us to wear. However, in the case of those known not to avoid impurities, such as the Christians, it is preferable to avoid their clothing, based on what is indicated by the hadith of Abu Tha‘labah al-Khushani, may Allah be pleased with him.

His statement, “if their condition is unknown,” involves two other possible cases:

The first is that their purity is known.