Those who hold that tanning purifies hides cite the report in the two Sahīh collections from ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās:
“The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) passed by a dead sheep and said, ‘Why did you not make use of its hide?’ They replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, it died without being slaughtered.’ He said, ‘Only eating it has been forbidden.’”
In a version narrated by Muslim:
“Why did they not take its hide, tan it, and make use of it?”
Sawdah bint Zam‘ah, the Prophet’s wife (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said:
“A sheep of ours died, so we tanned its hide and continued making fruit-infused drinks in it until it wore out.”
Ibn ‘Abbās said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say:
“When a hide is tanned, it becomes pure.”
I add: In another report narrated by Muslim, ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Wa‘lah said:
“We live in the Maghrib among Berbers and Magians. We are brought rams they have slaughtered, although we do not eat animals slaughtered by them, and we are brought leather vessels in which they put a preparation for rubbing on the body. What should we do?”
Ibn ‘Abbās replied:
“We asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) about that, and he said, ‘Tanning it purifies it.’”
‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported:
“The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) instructed that hides from animals that had died without lawful slaughter should be put to use once tanned.”
Narrated by Imam Ahmad, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, and al-Nasā’ī.
In another report, ‘Ā’ishah said:
“The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked about hides from animals that had died without lawful slaughter. He replied, ‘Tanning them purifies them.’”
Narrated by Imam Ahmad and al-Nasā’ī.
Salamah ibn al-Muhabbiq (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
“The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) passed by a house with a waterskin hanging in its courtyard. He asked for water, but was told, ‘It is