Fiqh Summary of the School of the Maliki Masters

(Muhammad al'
Arabi alQarawi)
The Pure and the Impure
1. How many pure substances are there and what are they?
There are 30 pure substances which will be mentioned in the course of this chapter.

2. What is the ruling on components of the earth and the ruling on living creatures, their sweat, tears,
mucous, spit, and eggs and what
emerges after death?
Things are fundamentally pure. All components of the earth and what is produced from it are pure, and
any impurity is incidental. These following
substances are pure:
1. A living creature, even if it is a dog or pig.
2. Its sweat.
3. Its tears.
4. Its mucous.
5. Its spit.
6. Its eggs, except for those which have become rotten or become blue or turned to blood: they are
impure. As for those whose white has
become mixed up with its yolk without being rotten, they are pure.
7. Those substances mentioned above which emerge from a living creature after it has been legally
slaughtered.
8. That which emerges from a living creature after it dies when it is an animal which is pure when it
dies without being slaughtered, like
fish and locusts. As for what emerges from a living creature after death when it is an animal which is
impure when it dies by itself, like
cattle after they die, that is impure.
3. What is the ruling on phlegm, bile, that which falls out of the brain, the human corpse, that which
does not have blood, aquatic animals,
that which is slaughtered, hair and down?
All those mentioned are pure and are as follows:
9. Phlegm, which is what comes congealed from the chest, like snot.
10. That which emerges from the brain of a human being or other creature.
11. Bile, which is a thick yellow fluid which is secreted by the stomach like a saffron dye. That is
because we consider the stomach to be
pure and so what emerges from it is pure as long as it has not been subject to decomposition, like vomit
which is no longer food.
12. A human corpse, even an unbeliever.
13. That which is dead and has no blood. This includes all the insects and vermin of the earth like
scorpions, beetles and fleas, but not
lice, which are impure when dead.
14. Dead aquatic animals: fish and others, even if they live a long time on land.
15. All that is slaughtered, whether by cutting its throat, or by nahr (a spear in the throat), or shooting if
it is an animal which is lawful to
eat. As for animals which meat is forbidden, such as pigs, the dead animal is impure, even if
slaughtered.* As for those who say that their
meat is disliked, then the process of slaughter is carried out on those animals and their dead are pure.
*As for dogs, donkeys, As for dogs, donkeys, mules and horses, there is a difference of opinion
regarding their meat and whether it is
unlawful or disliked. In the view of those who consider their meat unlawful, the dead animal is impure.
[Note. Some even say that horsemeat is permitted without being disliked.]
16. Hair, even from pigs. This includes camel hair and wool.
17. Down from feathers. It is that which connects to the quill on both sides.
4. What is the ruling on inanimates, human milk, excrement of permitted animals, their gall, undigested
food, vomit, musk, wine, the ashes
and smoke of impure things, and blood which has not been shed?
These following categories are also pure with certain preconditions attached to some of them.
18. Inanimates, which are substances which have no life and have not been separated from anything
living. This includes all the varieties
of plants and parts of the earth, and liquids, like water and oil. Milk, ghee and honey are not included as
they are not inanimate because
they came from something living, like eggs.
An exception is made for a liquid intoxicant derived from something inanimate, such as wine which
comes from the juice of grapes, or
the alcohol from the infusion of raisins and dates and the like. They are all impure and someone who
drinks them receives a hadd
punishment. This is not the case with hashish, opium, henbane and the like. They are pure because they
are from something inanimate. It
is, however, haram to use them because they remove good sense. It is not haram to use them for
medical treatment on the outside of the
body.
19. Human milk, even from an unbeliever.
20. The milk of what is not forbidden to eat, even if it is disliked, such as cats and beasts of prey. The
milk of animals it is forbidden to
eat, like pigs, is impure.
21. The excretion of permitted animals: the droppings and dung, urine, and the waste of chickens and
all birds which do not consume
impurity. If they consume impurity in food or drink, then their droppings are impure. A mouse is an
animal whose meat is permitted and
its droppings have the same ruling, even though it normally consumes impure things, like chickens.
Their droppings are only deemed to
be impure if they are proven or believed to have consumed impurities.
22. The gall of animals not haram to eat, whether permitted or disliked. It is a yellow liquid which
exists in a known place in the animal.
23. Undigested food, which is the liquid which the stomach casts up when it is full.
24. Vomit when it has not changed from the state of food by turning sour. If it has changed, it becomes
impure.
25. Musk and the animal which it comes from, and civet, which is similar.
26. When wine is turned into vinegar or turned to a solid by some process it become pure, especially
when it becomes vinegar or solid on
its own.
27. The ashes of impure things, like impure rubbish and dung. The purity of the ash of impurity is
restricted to that which is consumed by
fire so that the parts of the impurity are eradicated, but not something whose ashes retain a solid form.
They remain impure.
28. Impure fuel, which becomes pure when burned.
29. The smoke of impurity.
30. Blood other than that which is shed and flows from the slaughtered animal and remains in the veins
of the animal or its heart or what
leaks from the meat. That which remains in the place of slaughter is considered to be shed blood, which
is impure, as is that which is
found in the abdomen of the slaughtered animal after skinning.

5. How many impure substances are there and what are they?
There are fifteen impure substances which will are mentioned below in sections 6 to 8.

6. What is the ruling on the dead body, what issues from it, what is separated from it, and what is
separated from something alive? What is
the ruling on skins?
Those are impure substances:
1. The dead bodies of all land animals with a circulatory system: sheep, cattle, and donkeys, even lice.
A small amount in the case of lice
is overlooked due to the difficulty in removing it. Human corpses are pure, as already stated.
2. All that emerges from that corpse after death including urine, tears, mucous, and eggs.
3. All of what is separated from it which had been penetrated by life like flesh, bones, sinews, horns
and hooves and teeth. Feather quills
from birds alive or dead, which is that which is covered by down, are also impure. It has already been
mentioned that down and hair are
pure since life does not penetrate them. The skins of living or carrion animals are impure, even if
tanned, and cannot be prayed in or on.
Most of the imams believe that the become pure when tanned. Imam Malik, however, hesitated about
the purity of the kaymakht, which is
a tanned skin of a donkey, horse or mule. Some later scholars preferred that it be considered pure and
used to carry liquids like ghee and
honey, and that prayer is permitted on it. According to the wellknown
view that tanned skin is impure, it is permitted to use it for nonliquids,
like grains, flour and unmoistened bread, and for water in general because water if purifying and is not
made impure by it until its
colour. taste or smell is changed. As for other liquids, like ghee, honey, olive oil and other oils, and
water altered by pure things, like rose
water, they may not be placed within the tanned skin and if placed in it, become impure.
* Elephant tusks, the source of ivory, are also considered impure, although some give more weight to
the opinion that it is heavily
disliked (makruh tanzih).
7. What is the ruling of shed blood, black bile, human excreta and excreta of animals not permitted to
be eaten and animals which consume
impurity?
These are impure substances:
4. Shed blood, which is blood after slaughter, or from cupping or a wound, etc..
5. Black bile, which is what emerges from the stomach like pure blood.
6. Human excreta: urine and faeces.
7. Excreta of animals which it is not permitted to eat. These are animals whose meat is forbidden, like
donkeys, or disliked, like beasts of
prey.
8. The excreta of birds which consume impurities, like chickens and other birds, whether they eat or
drink that.
8. What is the ruling on vomit, sperm, wady, pus, purpulence, and what flows from the body?
These are impure substances:
9. Vomit, which is food expelled by the stomach when its nature has changed. It is impure when it has
changed from the state of food in
taste, colour or smell. If it is not been changed, it remains pure, as already stated.
10. Sperm.
11. Madhy, which is the thin liquid which emerges from the penis or vagina when thinking about
intercourse or other sexual activities.
12. Wady: which is a thick liquid which emerges from the penis without pleasure. It emerges due to
illness or a dry nature or the like,
usually after urination.
13. Pus, which is the the thick substance which comes from a boil.
14. Purpulence, which is a thin liquid mixed with blood.
15. All that flows from the body from blisters, pimples, pustules, scabs, itch and the like.
9. What is the ruling on something liquid or solid when an impurity falls into them?
When impurity falls into a liquid, like oil, honey, milk, rose water and the like, it becomes impure, even
if there is a lot of liquid and a little impurity,
like a drop of urine in gallons of these liquids. This is the wellknown
position, although there is another one which states that a little impurity does
not harm a lot of food. Similarly, when an impurity falls into solid food or a mouse or a similar animal
whose dead is impure dies in it, the food also
becomes impure when the impurity is believed to have pervaded it when it has been left for a long time.
If he does not think that it has spread through
all of it, then only the area which he thinks that the impurity has spread to it is impure. This ruling
varies according to the circumstances: the liquidity
or solidity of the impurity, and the length of time. So he removes from the food that amount through
which it is thought that the impurity has spread
and uses the rest. If he is less than 50% certain that the impurity has spread, then it is not discarded or
the food is not thrown out on account of doubt.
All of this is when the impurity is liquid or a solid which is loose or crumbly. As for an impurity which
is solid and hard, like a bone or tooth, the food
does not become impure when it falls into it. Included in this category is ivory which women wear and
which often makes contact with dough and the
like.
10. Can what is made impure be purified?
When liquids have an impurity fall into them, they become impure and cannot be purified. Meat which
is cooked an impure substance cannot be
purified, nor oil which is salted with it, eggs which are boiled in it, or clay which becomes impure by
something penetrating all parts of the clay when
the impurity is liquid, like urine, impure water, and blood. This occurs when it remains in the clay for a
long time and it is thought to have permeated
it. The same ruling which applies to clay applies to wooden vessels into which the impurity can
penetrate.
The impurity of clay vessels is limited by two conditions:
1. That the impurity which is in it is not wine which is meant to become solid or turn into vinegar. As
for wine which becomes solid or
vinegar, its vessel is purified by that process.
2. That the clay has not been baked. If it has been baked, it is pure.
Clay can be purified when solid impurity is put into it, as things other than clay can be purified: like
brass, glass, and iron which is heated and then
extinguished in impure water. It does not penetrate it because it is repelled by the heat.
11. Is it permitted to use impurity or something impure?
It is not permitted to use impure things at all except in four cases:
1. Tanned skins, in the ways we mentioned in section 6.
2. The meat of carrion, when someone is compelled to use it in case of dire necessity.
3. Wine for someone who is choking. It is not permitted to use it as a medicine, even if prescribed.
There is disagreement about other
impurities when they are prescribed for treatment. It is not permitted to drink wine to assuage thirst
because it actually increases thirst.
The Hanafis and Shafi'is permit its drinking to avert death due to lack of moisture, but not for thirst
itself.
4. Impurity placed on crops for their benefit, like nourishing melons by impure substances, but it is
mandatory to make that clear when
selling the fruit.
It is permitted to throw carrion to dogs, as it is permitted to burn its bones in a brick oven or stone
oven.
As for an impure thing, it is forbidden to use it in two specific cases:
1. A human being may not eat or drink it, and it is disliked to use it to oil his body. It must be removed
for the prayer, tawaf and entering
the mosque.
2. The mosque. Nothing impure may be used in it. Its lamps may not be lit with impure oil since the
lamps are inside the building. If the
lamp is outside of the mosque but illuminates the inside, it is permitted to use impure fuel.
In other than these two cases, it is permitted to use impure things. Impure food may be given to animals
and animals and crops are watered with
impure water. Calves and the like may be oiled with impure oil, and soap and other things may be made
from it. It is not permitted to sell something
intrinsically impure because it is not possible to purify it. Ibn Wahb, however, says that it is permitted
to sell it. If it something which can be purified,
like garments, then it is permitted provided that the seller makes clear that an impurity has occurred to
it.
12. Is it permitted to use silk?
It is prohibited (haram) for a sane adult male to use pure silk as clothing, bedding and covering. As for
khazz, which is a cloth whose warp is made
from silk and woof is made from cotton or linen (i.e. a mixture of the two), it is disliked, and because it
is a doubtful matter, it is more scrupulous to
leave it. If someone abandons doubtful matters, he keeps his deen and honour free of blame. An
exception to this prohibition is the use of a silk
curtain when the legally responsible person does not lie on it, and the banner used for jihad.
13. Is it permitted to wear jewellery made of the two metals of currency, gold and silver?
It is prohibited (haram) for a sane adult male to use jewellery made of gold or silver or clothing woven
with them or embroidered with them, or with
buttons made from them. Jewellery itself is even more haram, like goblets and belts, even fighting
implements like knives, daggers and spears. There
are five exceptions to the prohibition, and their ruling is mubah (allowed):
1. Swords. It is permitted to decorate them with gold or silver, whether on the hilt or the sheath. The
scholar al'
Adawi stipulated that a
precondition for allowing the decorating of the sword was that it be used for jihad in the Way of Allah.
If it is for bearing it in the land of
Islam, it is not permitted to adorn it.
2. Copies of the Qur'an. It is permitted to adorn them to honour them, but it is disliked to write its
tenths and juz's with it because it
distracts the reader from reflecting on the meaning. As for copying down knowledge and hadith, it is
not permitted to adorn them with
gold or silver. AlBarzali
permitted adorning the inkwell for writing the Qur'an and adorning the ijaza (certificate allowing
teaching).
3. Teeth, whether one or several. What is meant is the molar. When it becomes loose, it is permitted to
fix it with a cap made of either
gold or silver It is the same for a cap which puts the tooth back when it falls out. It is permitted to put it
back because what is dead of a
human being is pure. It is also permitted to put something in its place if that is pure. As for using
something which is derived from a dead
animal (such as ivory), there are two views about that: one that it is permissible and one that is
forbidden. Based on the view that it is
forbidden, it would be mandatory to remove it for every prayer as long as that does not become an
impossible burden.
4. An artificial nose which can be made from one of them
5. A ring, which can only be made from silver, with two stipulations.
a. Its weight is that of two legal dirhams or less.
b. There is one ring and not several.
If the combined weight of several rings is two dirhams or less, that is still forbidden, as it is also
forbidden if the ring is made of gold or
partly of gold unless the gold is less than the silver. In such a case, it is disliked, even if it is
distinguishable from the silver. The same
ruling applies if the ring is gold plated.
If the two stipulations are observed, the it is recommended to wear a ring, as it is recommended to wear
it on the left hand and to have the
bezel facing the palm because that entails less pride. It is permitted to engrave rings. They may be
engraved with the names of their
owners and the name of Allah Almighty. That is the view of Malik, may Allah be pleased with him. It is
disliked to wear rings made of
iron, copper and the like.
14. Is it permitted to own vessels made from gold or silver or to have vessels covered by one of them,
repaired or plated using one of them?
It is prohibited (haram) for the legally responsible person, male or female, to keep vessels of gold or
silver, even if they are not actually used. It is not
permitted to use them for storage or for fear of poverty or to rent them out, or as ornaments on shelves
and the like. This is, however, not the case with
jewellery which a man keeps out of fear of poverty. That is permitted because women are allowed to
use jewellery but neither men nor women are
permitted to use such vessels.
As it is unlawful to use gold and silver vessels when they are covered with copper, lead or tin, and it is
forbidden to mend vessels made of wood or
clay, or china with gold and silver. This is when a split is filled with gold or silver to mend it. As for
copper or iron vessels, including stirrups, it is
permitted to coat them with gold and silver, according to the wellknown
position.
15. Is it permitted to use gems? What use may women make of silk, gold and silver?
The owning of gems such as rubies, emeralds, pearls and crystal, is not forbidden nor is it forbidden to
use them in vessels. It is permitted for a
woman to wear silk, gold and silver and adorn herself with them, even on sandals or slippers because
they are part of dress. Similar items such as
covers, pillows, buttons and hair grips fall into this category. Makeup
sticks, beds and vessels of gold or silver are not permitted to her as they are not
worn and have no connection to what is worn. She is not permitted to decorate brushes, kohl sticks and
daggers with gold or silver nor to decorate a
sword if she has one. It is forbidden for her to adorn a sword because it is a male ornament.
Purification (Tahara)
16. What is its reality? What are its categories?
"Purification" is the removal of an impediment affecting all the limbs, which is the major purification
called ghusl, or only affecting some of the
limbs, which is the minor purification called wudu'.
What is meant by an 'impediment' is a state which does not allow a man to perform his worship, such
as, for instance, his state when one of the things
which breaks wudu' (such as urinating) overcomes him and prevents him from performing the prayer.
There are two categories of purification:
1) Purification from ritual impurity.
2) Purification from actual filth.
17. What is hadath (ritual impurity)? How many categories does it have?
It is an impediment affecting all the limbs, which is the major impurity and obliges ghusl, or an
impediment affecting some of the limbs, which is
lesser impurity and obliges wudu'.
18. What is the purification of filth? What is used for it?
It is the removal of impurity from the garment, body and place of someone who prays. It can be done
with any type of water since what is under
consideration is the removal of the impurity itself and cleaning of its location.
19. Are there different categories of purification from ritual impurity? What is used to achieve it?
There are two types of purification:
1) that done with water, which is wudu' and ghusl
2) that done with earth, which is tayammum.
Only pure water may be used.
20. What is pure water?
It has two preconditions:
1. That it remains on its basic nature in that nothing is mixed with it, such as sea water, well water,
water collected from dew and water
which has melted after having been frozen and ice.
2. That neither its colour or smell or taste has been altered by something which is normally separate
from it, whether that substance be
pure or impure.
21. What is the ruling on changed water?
1) Water which has been changed by the addition of an impurity, such as blood, corpses or wine. This
type of changed water may not be used for
general use or for worship.
2) Water which has been changed by the addition of something pure which is separate from it, such as
milk, ghee and honey. This type of water may
be used for general use (such as cooking) but not for worship.
3) Water which has been altered by something pure that is inseparable from it, like red clay, salt,
sulphur and earth, or has been altered by that which
falls or is thrown into it but is part of the earth around it, such as dry mud, even if it is thrown in
intentionally. This type of water may be used for both
worship and everyday uses. This ruling is also true for water whose state is altered by stagnation or by
fish and moss growing and living in it, or by
the leaves of surrounding trees falling into it, as this is impossible to avoid.
22. What water is it disliked to use for purification?
It is disliked to use a small amount of water for wudu' or ghusl if that water has already been used to
perform one of them, just as it is disliked to use
water into which impurity has fallen, which is not sufficient to change its state, even if this water were
only to be used for the purification of actual
filth (khabath). It is also disliked to use water which has been lapped by