—for indeed it is impure” [al-An'am 6:145]; that is, unclean. It therefore falls under the general category of carrion.

If it is asked: Carrion is forbidden, but prohibition does not necessarily entail impurity, does it?

The answer is that this principle is sound. Thus, poison is forbidden, yet it is not impure; and wine is forbidden, yet, according to the stronger view, it is not impure. However, when Allah says: “Say, ‘I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to one who would eat it, unless it be carrion, spilled blood, or the flesh of swine—for indeed it is impure—or…’” [al-An'am 6:145], He gives the reason in His words, “impure.” Impurity means that which is unclean, and this clearly establishes that carrion is impure. Thus, carrion is impure, and its hide is impure; but if we tan it, does it become pure?

The scholars differed regarding this (1). The established position of the school is that it does not become pure. They said: This is because carrion is intrinsically impure, and that which is intrinsically impure cannot become pure. Thus, if the dung of a donkey were washed with the waters of the seas, it would not become pure. This differs from incidental impurity, such as impurity that comes upon a garment and is then washed, in which case it becomes pure.

Although this analogy is very clear, it conflicts with the textual evidence: the hadith of Maymunah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet ﷺ passed by a sheep which they were dragging along and said, “Why did you not take its hide?” They said, “It is carrion.” He said, “Water and acacia pods purify it” (2). This explicitly indicates that it becomes pure through tanning.