16 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When a hide is tanned, it becomes pure.” Muslim recorded it. The four Sunan compilers relate it with the wording: “Any hide that is tanned (becomes pure).” (1)

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
• idhā (when): a conditional particle that does not place the verb in the jussive mood. dubigha is the verb of the condition; the particle fa connects the condition to its answer, ṭahara, while qad serves to emphasize certainty.
• dubigha (was tanned): a passive perfect verb. A hide is treated with a special substance so that it softens and loses the moisture and foul odor it contains.
• al-ihāb: on the pattern of kitāb; the skin of an animal before tanning. Its plural is uhub (with the hāʾ pronounced either with ḍammah or sukūn).
• ṭahara (became pure): the hāʾ may be read with ḍammah or fatḥah; it means “to become ritually pure.”
• ayyumā (any): ay is a conditional noun that governs two verbs—the first is the condition, here dubigha; the second is the response and result, here ṭahara. The particle mā is augmentative, and ayyumā is one of the words that express universality.