elsewhere. How could it be otherwise, when declaring such things impure and forbidden would spoil vast quantities of food and destroy property of immense value—something the Sharia, which encompasses every virtue, would never prescribe? Allah, glorified be He, has forbidden us only unwholesome things to protect us from harm, and has permitted us all wholesome things. He has not forbidden us any wholesome things, as He forbade the People of the Book certain wholesome things previously permitted to them because of their wrongdoing. Whoever comprehensively examines the Sharia in all its aspects, and how it serves people’s welfare in this life and the Hereafter, will understand of this whatever Allah guides him to understand:

“Anyone to whom Allah gives no light has no light.”

Allah, glorified be He, knows best. Praise belongs to Allah alone. May He bestow abundant blessings and peace upon Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

He was asked:

If oil is kept in a well and something impure—such as a mouse, a snake, or the like—falls into it and dies there, what is the ruling if the quantity is less than two qullahs? And if a dog laps oil or milk, what is the ruling concerning it?

He replied—may Allah have mercy on him:

If the quantity exceeds two qullahs, it is pure according to the majority of scholars, including Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Ahmad, and others. If it is less than two qullahs, there are two positions within the school of Ahmad and those of others. The position of the Medinan scholars and many hadith scholars is that it is pure, in keeping with one of the two positions reported from Ahmad