—may Allah have mercy on him—(1), and it is one of the two views within the madhhab (2). The evidence offered for this is that, although a bone feels pain and sensation, it does not possess complete life; blood does not circulate through it, and its life is dependent on something else. It therefore resembles the nail, hair, and the like, rather than the rest of the body. It is also argued that purity and impurity revolve around blood; hence, whatever has no flowing blood is pure.

However, what appears to be correct is that the madhhab’s position in this matter is sound, because the difference between a bone and an animal with no flowing blood is that the latter is an independent creature, whereas the bone became impure as a consequence of being part of something else. Moreover, since it feels pain, it is not like the nail or hair. Furthermore, the claim that it contains no blood is open to question, for it appears that blood is present in it, as may be seen in some bones.

2—Fish and all other marine animals, without exception: their carrion is pure and lawful, due to Allah’s saying: “Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food” [al-Ma'idah 5:96]. Ibn Abbas’s explanation of “the game” and “the food” has already been mentioned (3).

Lawfulness entails purity, but not the reverse. Thus, we have three principles:

a—Everything lawful is pure.

b—Everything impure is unlawful.

c—Not everything unlawful is impure.