Mālik that the vessel is to be washed seven times whether it contained water or milk. The milk may be consumed, but the water is to be discarded unless needed. If it is needed, one should perform ablution with it rather than dry ablution, according to his position and that of Ibn al-Qāsim in al-Mudawwana. One need not then repeat the prayer, even if other water becomes available within the prescribed prayer time.

Abū Zayd, however, narrated from Ibn al-Mājishūn that its purity is doubtful: one should perform both ablution with it and dry ablution, then pray, in accordance with his position on water of doubtful purity. If one performs ablution with it without also performing dry ablution, one must repeat the prayer within its prescribed time, just as if one had seen impurity in the dog’s mouth when it lapped. He thus presumed it impure, like other beasts of prey. He said that if someone uses that water to knead dough for bread or to cook food, he must not eat it, whether he is a desert dweller or a townsman. If, however, the dog drinks from a vessel containing milk, a desert dweller may consume the milk as food or drink, whether or not he has crops or livestock. He must then wash the vessel seven times, in accordance with the hadith. If he is not a desert dweller, he must discard the milk.

Asbagh said: “Desert dwellers and townspeople are alike in this regard, and water and milk are alike: the milk may be consumed, and the water may be used if needed. There is no harm in eating bread or cooked food prepared with it.” Mutarrif said: “If the milk is plentiful, he may consume it; if it is a small amount, he must discard it. Desert dwellers and townspeople are alike in this regard.”

Mālik’s position on the hadith concerning dogs varied. On one occasion, he understood it as applying generally to all dogs; on another, he held that it concerned dogs which one is not permitted to keep. Ibn al-Mājishūn’s distinction between desert dwellers and townspeople constitutes a third position.

Thus, there are four positions concerning what remains after a dog has drunk. The first is that it is pure. This follows from the position of Ibn Wahb, Ashhab and ‘Alī ibn Ziyād that beasts of prey are presumed pure, since the dog is itself a beast of prey. This is Ibn al-Qāsim’s position in al-Mudawwana and the position he narrates there from Mālik, based on his report that the dog is unlike other beasts of prey.

The second is that it is impure, like the leftovers of other beasts of prey. This is Mālik’s position as narrated from him by Ibn Wahb, based on the Prophet’s instruction, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to wash a vessel seven times after a dog has lapped from it.

The third distinguishes between dogs which one is permitted to keep and those which one is not permitted to keep. This is the strongest position, because the reason for purity expressly identified by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the case of the cat is also present in dogs which one is permitted to keep, unlike those which one is not permitted to keep.

The fourth distinguishes between desert dwellers and townspeople,