al-Taqrirat al-Sadidah Explained: Sayyid Hasan al-Kaf

as Salamu alaikum,

The author of al-Taqrirat al-Sadidah, Sayyid Hasan al-Kaf, is currently teaching his work to students in Cairo. The files have been uploaded to YouTube and can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvYxWW_bW68

Throwing Dead Creatures Without Flowing Blood Into Liquid

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

When a dead aquatic creature—namely, a creature that originated in water such as a leech-- is thrown into liquid the liquid will not become impure according to Ibn Hajar; however, al-Ramli contended that such creature will cause liquid to become impure. 

Where the two imams agree:

Ibn Hajar and al-Ramli agree that if a creature without flowing blood is thrown in water or another liquid,  while alive, the water or liquid will remain pure regardless if the creature died after being tossed in the water or it remained alive thereafter. Likewise, both imams agree that if such creature is dead when thrown into the water, and the person who tossed the dead creature in the water has reach the age of discernment, the water will become impure. 

Where the imams differ: 

Ibn Hajar and al-Ramli differ over dead aquatic creatures that are thrown into water. Ibn Hajar expressed the view that dead aquatic creatures will not make the water impure. Ibn Hajar supported his view with the statements of al-Nawawi in Rawdat al-Talibin and Sharh al-Muhadhdhab. Imam al-Nawawi said in al-Rawdah:

“Will creatures without flowing blood--such as flies and the like--render water or other liquids impure? There are two views; the more apparent view is that the creatures will not make the liquid impure. This difference of opinion revolves around animals that do not originate in water, for such creatures will not render the water impure, and there is no difference of opinion over this issue. However, if one removed the dead aquatic creature from the water and then return it, or tossed it into some other liquid, the two views mentioned previously will reemerge” (1/13). 

Ibn Hajar expressed this view in Tuhfat al-Muhtaj where he said “throwing dead aquatic creatures into water is of no consequence based on the words of al-Rafi’i and al-Nawawi” (1/93). 

Al-Ramli, on the other hand, followed the view of his father, Shihab al-Din al-Ramli, and Sheikh al-Islam Zakariyya al-Ansari. In Nihayat al-Muhtaj, al-Ramli mentioned that the upshot to the relied-upon view over the issue of dead creatures without flowing blood, based on the words of Ibn al-Wardi’s al-Bahjah and the view held by his father, is that creatures without flowing blood will not alter the water’s pure nature if the creatures are alive. Aquatic life forms and non-aquatic creatures are the same in this regard provided that the water does not change as a result of coming into contact with the dead creatures, but if the creature--aquatic or non-aquatic--is thrown into the liquid after the creature has died then the water will become impure” (1/81). 

BaFaraj, Umar. Fath al-‘Aliyy. Ed. Dr. Shifa’ Hitou. Beirut: Dar al-Minhaj, 2010. Print.