the final stages, when little water remained and the dough had dissolved.

If it is said, “That alteration was only slight,” the answer is: This too supports our position in this matter. For if one treats slight and substantial alterations alike without qualification, one contradicts the scriptural text. If one distinguishes between them, there is no clearly defined boundary separating them in language, Islamic law, reason, or custom. Whoever distinguishes between the lawful and the unlawful on the basis of an undefined distinction holds an unsound position.

Moreover, those who prohibit this are inconsistent in a way that demonstrates the unsoundness of their underlying position. Some distinguish camphor and oil from other substances, saying, “This alteration results from proximity, not from mixing.” Others say, “Rather, we do find traces of these substances in the water.” Some distinguish between spring leaves and autumn leaves, while others treat them alike. Some treat the two kinds of salt—rock salt and salt obtained from water—alike, while others distinguish between them. None of these opinions rests on reliable evidence from a scriptural text, analogy, or consensus, since the underlying principle from which they derive was not established by revelation.

Allah, Glorified and Exalted, has said:

“Had it been from anyone other than Allah, they would have found in it much discrepancy.”

This is unlike what comes from