As for purity and impurity, they are two aspects of what is lawful and unlawful—with regard to clothing and the like—and follow the rulings on lawful and unlawful foods and drinks.

On this broad and fundamental subject, the position of the scholars of hadith lies between those of the Iraqi and Hijazi scholars. The scholars of Medina—Mālik and others—prohibit every intoxicating drink, as established by authentic reports transmitted from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) through numerous channels. Their approach to foods, however, is different: generally, they do not prohibit them. They permit birds without restriction, even those with talons, and regard all fanged beasts of prey as disliked. Two opinions are transmitted from Mālik concerning whether the latter are prohibited. Likewise, two opinions are transmitted from him concerning small crawling creatures: are they prohibited or merely disliked?

The same applies to mules and donkeys. It is reported from him that they are disliked more strongly than beasts of prey. It is also reported from him that they are prohibited by the Sunnah, though their prohibition is less stringent than that of donkeys. He also regards horses as disliked, but less strongly than beasts of prey.

On the subject of drinks, the scholars of Kufa differ from the scholars of Medina and everyone else. They restrict the designation of wine to that made from grapes. They do not prohibit a small quantity of an intoxicating drink unless it is grape wine, an unboiled infusion of dates or raisins, or boiled grape juice of which less than two-thirds has evaporated. As for their position on