impure, the correct view is that neither avoiding it nor taking precautions is recommended. For ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—was passing beneath a waterspout with a companion when some water dripped from it onto his companion.

His companion asked, “Owner of the waterspout, is your water pure or impure?”

ʿUmar said, “Owner of the waterspout, do not tell him, for he is not obliged to know.”

According to the view that small amounts are overlooked, if someone spreads bedding over the dung of donkeys or similar animals in caravanserais or elsewhere, a small amount of such contamination is overlooked. As for horse dung, the correct view is that it is pure, so there is no need for it to be overlooked. Nor is he required to take any of these measures upon entering a town. Whether his hand is moist from water or otherwise, contact with the reins does him no harm. Washing the reins is an innovation; no such practice has been reported from the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them. Rather, they used to ride these animals, and Allah reminded them of this blessing in His words, Most High:

“And horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride.”

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had a mule which he used to ride.”

It is also reported of him:

“He rode a donkey.”

There is no report that he instructed those who tended the animals to take precautions against such things.

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A butcher’s clothing and body are deemed pure, even if there is grease on them. Washing one’s hands because of this is an obsessive misgiving and an innovation. The place he occupies in the mosque or elsewhere is also pure.