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What is the ruling on the meat and milk of sheep if a dog drinks from the same vessel from which the sheep drink?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars differ on the impurity of the dog. The Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī schools of thought hold the view that if a dog licks a vessel, it is obligatory to wash the vessel seven times, one of them with earth, and to discard any food or drink that the dog licked. As for sheep that drink from water licked by a dog, they are not considered "jallālah" (animals that feed on impurities), thus their meat is not forbidden, because their drinking is not considered nourishment from impurities. The preponderant view is that it is disliked to eat the meat, eggs, or drink the milk of a jallālah animal. It is better to prevent the dog from drinking with the sheep, but if it happens, the water should be discarded and the vessel washed. If the sheep drink from water licked by a dog, the fundamental principle is that it is permissible to eat their meat and drink their milk, even if they are not confined, though it is preferable to confine them as a precautionary measure.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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