QUESTION:

What do the scholars of the Dīn and muftīs of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: Which animal leather is permissible to use. In U.K. things are made from the skin of many halāl & harām animals, such as bags, coats, the wrist straps for watches, etc. There is much need for a fully detailed explanation to this issue so that the general public can become aware of it.

Questioner: A sister from UK

ANSWER:

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب

It is permissible to use the leather made from any animal other than pig; be the animal halāl or harām, provided that its skin has been tanned and then dried. Tanning purifies the skin of all dead animals, regardless of whether it is dried using sodium sulphate [used in the manufacturing of detergents], etc or via a certain chemical, or merely dried in the sun or the wind, from which all of its [bodily] fluids are rid of and thus no odour ceasing to exist. Doing so will purify the skin, and [thus] whatever is made from it will also be pure as well, just as it has been stated in a Hadīth of Sahīh Muslim; the Noble Prophet ﷺ has stated,

“إِذَا دُبِغَ الْإِهَابُ فَقَدْ طَهُرَ”

“When the skin is tanned, it becomes purified.”

[Sahīh Muslim, pg 194, Hadīth no 366]

Furthermore, using the skin after it has been tanned as well as bringing it into use is permissible, just as Imām Mālik narrates in Muwatta’ Imām Mālik from Umm al-Mu’minīn (the Mother of the believers) Sayyidah ‘Ā’ishah Siddīqah, may Allāh ﷻ be pleased with her, that,

” أَمَرَ أَنْ يُسْتَمْتَعَ بِجُلُودِ الْمَيْتَةِ إِذَا دُبِغَتْ”

“He [the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ] ordered that the hides of dead animals be used after they had been tanned.”

[al-Muwatta’ li-Imām Mālik, vol 2, pg 54, pg 1107]

It is stated in the renowned Hanafī book, Durr Mukhtār, that,

“وَكُلُّ إهَابٍ دُبِغَ) وَلَوْ بِشَمْسٍ (وَهُوَ يَحْتَمِلُهَا طَهُرَخَلَاخِنْزِيرٍ) فَلَا يَطْهُرُ)”

“Any hide which has been tanned, even if it has been dried via the sun, and it is possible to do so, then it becomes pure, other than pig as this is not pure.”

[al-Durr al-Mukhtār & Radd al-Muhār, vol 1, pg 393-395]

In addition, it is also stated in Bahār-e-Sharī’at that with the exception of pig, the hide of every animal becomes clean & pure after drying (tanning) whether it was tanned by boiling it with alkaline salt [sodium sulphate] or with any other chemical, or if it was simply left out to dry in the sun or it dried due to the wind and all its moisture dries off allowing its odour to fade away. In both cases, it will be regarded as being purified and salāh on it is permissible.

[Bahār-e-Sharī’at, vol 1, part 2, pg 402]

واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم
کتبہ ابو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء قادری

Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qadri
Translated by Haider Ali

Read the original Urdu answer here: [Q-ID0589] What is the ruling on wearing animal leather products such as bags, coats and watches etc?

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