Taking the verse in its literal sense, they excluded the polytheists from the conclusion that analogy would otherwise dictate; whoever treated the verse as simple censure, however, allowed his analogy to proceed uninterrupted.
The transmitted reports, for their part, oppose this analogy in the cases of the dog, the cat, and wild beasts.
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The dog
The sound ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah—agreed upon as authentic—relates that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“If a dog laps from the vessel of any one of you, let him pour it out and wash it seven times,”
and in one variant, “the first of them with earth,” while another wording adds, “and rub it an eighth time with earth.” -
The cat
Qurrah narrates, from Ibn Sīrīn, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“The purification of a vessel into which a cat has lapped is to wash it once or twice.”
Qurrah is regarded as trustworthy by the ḥadīth specialists. -
Beasts of prey
There is also the earlier report of Ibn ʿUmar through his father, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about water frequented by wild beasts and livestock, and he replied: ‘If the water reaches two qullahs, it does not carry impurity.’”
As for the apparent conflict among the reports on this topic, one example is the narration that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was asked about the cisterns between Mecca and Medina that dogs and wild beasts visit. He answered:
“They have what they carry away in their bellies, and what remains is yours for drinking and purification.”
To the same effect is the report of ʿUmar recorded by Mālik in his Muwaṭṭaʾ, wherein he said:
“O keeper of the pond, do not inform us, for we drink where the beasts drink, and they drink where we drink.”
Likewise is the ḥadīth of Abū Qatādah, also cited by Mālik: Kabshah poured water for him to make ablution. A cat came to drink, so he tilted the vessel toward her until she had drunk. He then said, “The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
‘She is not impure; she is one of those that roam about among you, male or female.’”