18 – Maimūnah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a sheep that people were dragging away. He remarked, ‘Why did you not take its hide?’ They answered, ‘It has died.’ He replied, ‘Water and qaradh purify it.’ ” It was recorded by Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī. (1)
Hadith grading
The hadith is ḥasan (good) when supported by its corroborating narrations.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar stated in al-Talkhīṣ: It was transmitted by Mālik (2/498), Abū Dāwūd (4126), al-Nasāʾī (4248), Ibn Ḥibbān (2/291), and al-Dāraqutnī (1/45) through the chain of al-ʿĀliyah bint Subayʿ, from Maimūnah. Ibn al-Sakan and al-Ḥākim judged it authentic, yet the chain contains ʿAbd Allāh ibn Mālik ibn Ḥudhāfah and his mother al-ʿĀliyah, both of whom are unknown narrators. Al-Dāraqutnī also reported it via Yaḥyā ibn Ayyūb, from ʿUqayl, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from Ibn ʿAbbās. In sum, the hadith is ḥasan on account of its supporting chains.
Vocabulary of the hadith
• shāh: a single sheep or goat, used for both male and female; its plurals are shāʾ and shiyāh.
• qaradh: the pods of the salam acacia; its tree resembles the walnut and belongs to the legume family. Hides are tanned with its pods, and among the Arabs tanning was commonly associated with qaradh.
Points derived from the three hadiths
- The general formulation of Ibn ʿAbbās’s report indicates that any hide which has been tanned becomes pure, whether the animal was ritually clean while alive or not.