Is "ox gal" extracted from cows and found in watercolors considered pure by transformation after undergoing the manufacturing process?
If an animal is slaughtered according to Islamic law (dhakāh shar'iyyah), then the bile (safra') of the calf or bull is pure (ṭāhir) and permissible to use.
However, if the animal is not slaughtered, then the bile in its gallbladder is a matter of scholarly disagreement:
- Some scholars hold that it is impure (najis) because it is contained within an impure vessel. - Others, and this is the more apparent (al-aẓhar) view, hold that it is pure because a liquid does not become impure merely by coming into contact with impurity unless one of its characteristics changes due to it.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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