Download
0 / 0
5117408/05/2010

Is it permissible to wear something made from snakeskin?

Question: 147632

Is wearing snakeskin permissible?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Animals are of two types: those whose meat may be eaten and
those whoseeat may not be eaten. 

With regard to animals whose meat may be eaten if they are
slaughtered in the shar‘i manner, their skins are taahir (pure) according to
scholarly consensus, even if they are not tanned. 

With regard to animals whose meat may not be eaten, they are
divided into two categories: those which are najis (impure) when alive, and
those which are taahir. 

Those that are najis in and of themselves are pigs, according
to consensus, and dogs according to the Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis, so
slaughtering them (in the shar‘i manner) does not make their skins taahir. 

With regard to those that are not najis in and of themselves
although their meat may not be eaten, the fuqaha’ differed as to whether
their skins become taahir if they are slaughtered (in the shar‘i manner).
The Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis are of the view that they do not become taahir
through slaughter. The evidence quoted by these scholars is that the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbade
sitting on the skins of wild animals and riding on tiger skins. This is
general in meaning and applies to that which is slaughtered (in the shar‘i
manner) and that which is not. Because slaughtering it (in the shar‘i
manner) does not make the meat taahir, it does not make the skin taahir
either. 

The Hanafis and Maalikis are of the view that the skins
become pure if the animal is slaughtered in the shar‘i manner. They quoted
as evidence the words of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him): “The tanning of leather is its slaughter.” And because
slaughter (in the shar‘i manner) has the same effect as tanning in removing
moist impurities. With regard to the prohibition on sitting on the skins of
wild animals and riding on tiger skins, that is because these things are
used by people who show off, or because they used to use them without
tanning them.

Al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah,
7/95-96 

The more correct view is that the skins of animals whose meat
cannot be eaten is not taahir, whether it is tanned or not, because najis
skins cannot be purified by means of tanning. 

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Animal skins are of three types: 

1.Those that are taahir, whether
they are tanned or not. This includes the skins of animals that are
slaughtered (in the shar‘i manner) if they may be eaten.

2.Skins that are not taahir
whether after tanning or before tanning. They are najis. This is the skins
of animals whose meat may not be eaten, such as pigs.

3.Skins that become taahir after
tanning and are not taahir before that. These are the skins of animals whose
meat may be eaten, if they died without being slaughtered (in the shar‘i
manner). End quote.

Liqa’ al-Baab al-Maftooh, 52/39 

See also the answer to questions no.
1695 and
144270 

Secondly: 

The majority of scholars are of the view that it is haraam to
eat snakes. 

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmoo‘,
9/16-17: 

The opinions of the scholars concerning the vermin of the
earth such as snakes, scorpions, dung beetles, cockroaches, mice and so on
is that they are haraam. This is the view of Abu Haneefah, Ahmad and Dawood.
Maalik said: they are halaal. End quote. 

It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (11/233): 

The Hanafis, Shaafa‘is and Hanbalis say that snake meat is
haraam. End quote. 

See also the answer to question no.
138842

Based on the above: 

The skins of snakes are not taahir, even if they are tanned,
because they are animals whose meat may not be eaten. So it is not
permissible to wear anything made of their skin, whether it is shoes,
khufoof (leather slippers) or anything else. 

And Allah, may He be exalted, knows best.

Source

Islam Q&A

Was this answer helpful?

at email

Our newsletter

To join our newsletter please add your email below

phone

IslamQA App

For a quick access to our content and offline browsing

download iosdownload android