which is Ibn al-Mājishūn’s position as related from him by Abū Zayd. Those who consider what remains after a dog has drunk to be pure say that the Prophet’s command, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to wash the vessel seven times after a dog has lapped from it prescribes an act of worship, not a measure based on an underlying cause. Those who consider it impure say that as many washings as are needed to cleanse it are obligatory because of the impurity, while the remaining washings that complete the seven are prescribed as worship, not for an underlying cause. [Those who consider it impure say that as many washings as are needed to cleanse it are obligatory because of the impurity, while the remaining washings that complete the seven are prescribed as an act of worship, not for an underlying cause.] This is like the command to cleanse oneself with three stones after relieving oneself: as many as are needed to achieve cleanliness are obligatory, while the remainder of the three are prescribed as an act of worship.

There is disagreement over when the vessel must be washed seven times after dogs have lapped from it. Some say immediately after the dog has lapped; others say when one intends to use it. If washing it is an act of worship, there is no reason to delay that worship. Washing it becomes obligatory only when one intends to use it according to the position that it is washed because of impurity, rather than as an act of worship.

I say: My understanding of the Prophet’s command, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to wash a vessel seven times after a dog has lapped from it—and Allah knows best and judges most wisely—is that it is a recommendation and a measure of guidance, out of concern that the dog might be rabid and cause bodily harm to anyone who consumes what it leaves behind or uses the vessel before washing it. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbids whatever harms people in their religious or worldly affairs. He said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “I had indeed considered forbidding ghīla,” until I recalled that the Byzantines and Persians practise it without any harm to their children.

The command is not on account of impurity, since the dog is presumed pure on the basis of the evidence already mentioned. Nor is there a fixed number of washings for removing impurity. Thus, according to this interpretation, if a dog which one is permitted to keep laps from a vessel containing water or food, neither the water nor the food becomes impure. Nevertheless, one must refrain from drinking it, eating it or using the vessel before washing it, out of concern that the dog might be rabid and that some of its saliva might have entered the contents, resembling a poison harmful to the body. This accords with the guidance given by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, through his command to wash seven times a vessel from which a dog has lapped, out of his compassion, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—