✦ Islamic Ruling on the Use of Leather from a Dead Animal ✦
Derived from: Fatawa of the Scholars of Hadith, Kitab al-Salah, Volume 1
❖ Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on using the leather of a dead animal (maytah)?
❖ Answer:
It is permissible to use the leather of a dead animal from among those whose meat is generally lawful to eat (mākūl al-laḥm) after it has undergone tanning (dabāghah). Tanning purifies the hide, making it permissible for various forms of use—excluding consumption.
❖ Evidences from Hadith:
✔ Narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (RA):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“إِذَا دُبِغَ الإِهَابُ فَقَدْ طَهُرَ“
“When a hide is tanned, it becomes purified.”
(Sahih Muslim)
✔ Another narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (RA):
He reported that the Prophet ﷺ passed by a dead goat and said:
“Why don’t you take its hide, tan it, and make use of it?”
The Companions said, “It is dead (maytah).”
The Prophet ﷺ replied:
“إِنَّمَا حَرُمَ أَكْلُهَا“
“Only its consumption is forbidden; after tanning, other uses are permissible.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Mishkat al-Masabih)
❖ Ruling in Islamic Law:
After undergoing tanning, the leather of a dead animal becomes permissible for various uses, including:
✔ Buying and selling
✔ Making buckets or other utility items
✔ Using as bedding or for daily household purposes
❖ Exception:
✘ It is prohibited to consume anything made from the leather of a dead animal—even after tanning.
❖ Reference:
Fatawa Nadhiriyyah, Volume 1, Issue No. 199
Compiled by: ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Aʿẓamgarhī
Verified by: Sayyid Nadhīr Ḥusayn
Jamia Saʿīdiyyah, Khanewal, West Pakistan
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
