Leftover water and food: pure, disliked, doubtful or impure
Whose leftover water or food (jutha) is pure, which are merely disliked, which are doubtful, and which are impure.
"Leftover" (jutha) means water or food that has already touched someone's or something's mouth. Whether you can still use it depends on whose mouth touched it.
| Whose leftover | Can you use it? |
|---|---|
| A person, anyone at all, as long as they haven't just had something impure like alcohol | Yes, it's pure |
| A horse, a lawful farm animal or bird, a fish or other water animal, or a small creature without flowing blood | Yes, it's pure |
| A cat, rat, lizard, crow, hawk, or a chicken or cow that eats filth | Better not to, but it isn't impure, just disliked |
| A mule (born from a female donkey) or a donkey | Best to avoid it, since it's unclear |
| A pig, a dog, or an elephant | No: it's impure |
Jutha (leftover water or food) takes its ruling from whoever or whatever last touched it with their mouth.
| Category | Whose leftover | Ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Pure | Any human being (Muslim or non-Muslim, male or female, junub or menstruating) provided they have not just consumed something impure such as alcohol or pork; horses; lawful animals, four-legged or birds; aquatic animals; and animals without flowing blood, whether lawful or unlawful to eat | Pure, and may be used |
| Makruh (disliked) | Animals unlawful to eat that live indoors, such as cats, rats and lizards, and birds such as crows, hawks and eagles; also lawful animals that roam freely and eat whatever they find, such as stray chickens and filth-eating cows or buffaloes, as long as their mouths are not currently dirtied by it | Makruh tanzeehi: better avoided, but not impure |
| Doubtful (mashkook) | A mule born of a female donkey and a male horse; a donkey | Best avoided, out of caution |
| Impure | Animals entirely unlawful to eat, such as pigs, dogs and elephants | Impure: cannot be used |
A mule born of a female horse (rather than a female donkey) does not fall under the doubtful category.
Human sweat is pure.
The sweat and saliva of an animal follow the same ruling as its leftover: pure if the leftover is pure, and impure or doubtful if the leftover is impure or doubtful. The saliva from an elephant's trunk is impure.
Suʾr, leftover water or food, takes the ruling of whatever last touched it with its mouth.
| Category | Whose leftover | Ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Ṭāhir (pure) | Any human being, Muslim or non-Muslim, male or female, junub or menstruating, provided they have not just consumed something impure such as alcohol or pork; the horse; lawful animals, quadruped or avian; aquatic creatures; and any creature without sāʾil (flowing) blood, whether lawful or unlawful to eat | Pure, and usable without qualification |
| Makrūh tanzīhī | Unlawful animals kept indoors (cats, rats, lizards) and birds such as crows, hawks and eagles; also lawful free-roaming animals that eat whatever they find, such as stray chickens and jallālah (filth-eating) cattle, provided their mouths are not presently soiled by it | Disliked, though not impure |
| Mashkūk (doubtful) | A mule born of a female donkey and a male horse; the donkey | To be avoided as a matter of caution, though not ruled impure outright |
| Najis (impure) | Animals entirely unlawful to eat: the pig, the dog, the elephant | Impure without qualification |
A mule born of a female horse rather than a female donkey is expressly excluded from the doubtful category.
Where an animal whose leftover is normally pure has just consumed something impure and then puts its mouth to a pure item, that item becomes impure. Once sufficient time has passed for the mouth to be naturally cleansed, contact no longer transmits impurity: the example given is a cat that drinks immediately after eating a rat, which renders the liquid impure.
Human sweat is ṭāhir.
An animal's sweat and saliva carry the same ruling as its suʾr: pure where the suʾr is pure, and impure or doubtful where the suʾr is impure or doubtful. The saliva of an elephant's trunk is specifically ruled impure.
Terms on this page
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