the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said regarding donkeys on the day of Khaybar: "They are a rijs (abomination)." (25) Furthermore, because it is an animal whose consumption is forbidden, not due to its inherent sanctity, but because it is generally possible to avoid it, it is like the dog. Moreover, because beasts of prey and birds of prey generally feed on carrion and filth, their mouths become impure, and it cannot be verified that there is anything to purify them, so it should be judged as impure, like dogs. As for the hadith of Abu Sa'id, we have already responded to it, and it is incumbent to interpret it as referring to large quantities of water for those who hold the view that the leftover water of a dog is impure. The other hadith is narrated by Ibn Abi Habibah, and his hadith is munkar (rejected), as stated by al-Bukhari (26). Ibrahim ibn Yahya (27) is also a liar.
The correct position in my view is the purity of the mule and the donkey, because the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to ride them, and they were ridden in his time and during the era of the Companions. Had they been impure, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would have clarified that. Furthermore, they are animals from which one cannot guard against if one keeps them; thus, they are like the cat. The statement of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) [regarding donkeys] (29): "They are a rijs (abomination)," meant that they are forbidden, just as the Almighty said regarding [wine] (30), gambling, idols, and arrows for divination that they are {a rijs} (31). It is also possible that he meant their meat, which
(25) Narrated by al-Bukhari in: "The Prohibition of Eating the Meat of Domestic Donkeys Only," and in: "Chapter on the Meat of Domestic Donkeys," from the Book of Slaughtering; and in: "Chapter on the Battle of Khaybar," from the Book of Military Expeditions (Maghazi). Sahih al-Bukhari 7/123, 124, 5/167. And by Muslim, in: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Eating the Meat of Domestic Donkeys," from the Book of Hunting. Sahih Muslim 3/1540. And by al-Nasa'i, in: "Chapter on the Leftover Water of a Donkey," from the Book of Purification. Al-Mujtaba 1/49. And by Ibn Majah, in: "Chapter on the Meat of Wild Donkeys," from the Book of Slaughtering. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/1066. And by al-Darimi, in: "Chapter on the Meat of Domestic Donkeys," from the Book of Sacrificial Animals. Sunan al-Darimi 2/87. (26) In Al-Tarikh al-Kabir 1/271, and he is Ibrahim ibn Isma'il ibn Abi Habibah al-Madani al-Ansari, who was alive in the year 160 AH. (27) Ibrahim ibn Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abbad al-Shajari; he narrated from his father, and al-Bukhari and others narrated from him outside of the Sahih. See: Mizan al-I'tidal 1/74; Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 1/176. (28) Omitted from M. (29) Omitted from M. (30) Omitted from the original (al-asl) and A. (31) Surah al-Ma'idah 90.
