Abdah ibn Abi Lubaba (4), al-Thawri, Ibn al-Majishun (5), and Ibn Maslama (6) said: One may perform ablution and tayammum.
Malik said: The vessel in which the dog has lapped is to be washed as an act of worship (ta'abbudan).
Some of them argued for its purity by citing the saying of Allah the Almighty: "So eat from what they catch for you" (7), and He did not command the washing of what its mouth had touched. Furthermore, Ibn Majah narrated with his chain of narration from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked about the water reservoirs between Mecca and Medina, which are visited by beasts of prey, dogs, and donkeys, and about performing ablution with them. He replied: "They have what they carry in their bellies, and we have what remains, which is pure." Additionally, they argued that it is an animal, so it is pure like the animals that are eaten.
Our evidence is what Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "If a dog laps in the vessel of one of you, let him wash it seven times." Agreed upon (8). In the version of Muslim: "Let him pour it out, then wash it seven times" (9). If its leftover water were pure, it would not be permissible to pour it out, nor would it be obligatory to wash it.
If it is said: "The obligation to wash it is merely as an act of worship, just as the limbs of ablution are washed, and the hand is washed upon waking from the night's sleep."
We say: The fundamental principle is that washing is obligatory due to impurity, as evidenced by all other instances of washing. Furthermore, if it were an act of worship, He would not have commanded the pouring out of the water, and the washing would not have been specific to the site of the lapping; for the wording applies to the entire vessel. As for washing the hand upon waking (10), it was only commanded as a precaution, due to the possibility that one's hand may have...
(4) Abu al-Qasim Abdah ibn Abi Lubaba al-Asadi al-Ghada'iri, their mawla, a trustworthy Kufan who settled in Damascus; he narrated from Ibn Umar, Ibn Amr, and others. Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 6/461, 462. (5) Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah al-Taymi, their mawla, the Maliki jurist; the circle of legal opinions (fatwa) in his time revolved around him. He died in the year 212 AH. Al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab 2/6, 7. (6) Abu Hisham Muhammad ibn Maslama ibn Muhammad, one of the jurists of Medina and a companion of Malik; he was trustworthy, reliable, and an authority in knowledge. He died in the year 206 AH. Al-Dibaj al-Mudhahhab 2/156. (7) Surah al-Ma'idah, 4. (8) Cited previously on page 17. (9) In M: "times" (marrat), and what is established in the original (al-asl) and Sahih Muslim is "seven times" (sab'a mirarin). (10) In A: "sleep of the night."
