Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: Is the droppings of a Heron pure? If its droppings soil the clothes and one offers salah in the same clothes, will the salah be valid?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
The principle of sharī’aĥ regarding the droppings of a bird is that the dropping of a halal bird that flies high is pure. Both of these attributes are found in the heron, i.e., a heron is a halal bird, and it flies high; therefore, its dropping is pure. If the droppings soil the clothes and one offers salah without washing the soiled area, the salah will be valid. Although the droppings of a heron are pure, if one gets to know about the soiling before salah, that area should be cleaned prior to offering salah so that it doesn’t soil the masjid and cause disgust, as it is necessary to safeguard the masjid from all such things which cause disgust.
The heron is a halal animal. The grand Mufti of India, Maulana Mustafa Raza Khan رحمۃ الله تعالى عليه was asked whether a parrot, hoopoe, heron, and rabbit are halal or not. Replying to this, he رحمۃ الله تعالى عليه wrote:
سب حلال ہیں۔
Translation: All of these are halal. (Fatawa Mufti-e-A’zam, Vol. 5, p. 109, Publ. Imam Ahmad Raza Academy)
Mentioning the principle of sharī’aĥ about the droppings of birds, Allamah ‘Ala-Uddin Al-Haskhafi رحمۃ الله تعالى عليه (d. 1088 AH/1677 CE) has written:
كل طير۔۔۔ ما يذرق فيه، فإن مأكولا فطاهر وإلا فمخفف
(Al-Durr Al-Mukhtar, Vol. 1, p. 577, Publ. Quetta)
Allamah Tahtawi Hanafi رحمۃ الله تعالى عليه (d. 1231 AH/1815 CE) writes:
اما ما یذرق فی الھواء فما یوکل کالحمام والعصفور فخرؤہ طاھر
(Hashiyah Al-Tahtawi ‘Ala Maraq Al-Falah, p. 155, Publ. Dar Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmiyah)
The jurists have also explicitly mentioned the ruling of the heron’s droppings. Thus, it is mentioned in Fatawa Amjadiyah:
بگلا کی بیٹ پاک ہے اس لیے کہ جو پرندےہوا میں اڑتے ہیں اور حلال ہیں ، ان کی بیٹ پاک ہے۔ درمختار میں ہے :
أما ما يذرق فيه، فإن مأكولا فطاهر وإلا فمخفف۔
Translation: The droppings of a heron are pure because the droppings of the birds that fly in the air and are also halal are pure. It is stated in Al-Durr Al-Mukhtar: As for the bird that passes droppings in the air, if it is Halal to consume, its dropping is pure; otherwise it is najasah khafifah.
Further clarifying the above-mentioned text of Fatawa Amjadiyah, the great jurist of India, Mufti Muhammad Shareef Al-Haq Amjadi رحمۃ الله تعالى عليه (d. 1421 AH/2000 CE) wrote in the footnotes of Fatawa Amjadiyah:
بہار شریعت میں ہے جو پرند ےہوا میں اونچے اڑتے ہیں۔ اور در مختار کی منقولہ بالا عبارت کا ترجمہ یہ ہے : جو پرندے ہوا میں بیٹ کرتے ہیں ، رد المحتار میں اسکے تحت فرمایا کحمام وعصفور جیسے کبوتر اور گوریا ۔ اس کا مقتضی یہ ہے کہ بگلے کی بیٹ ضرور پاک ہے ۔ غنیہ کی عبارت نے تو اس کو بالکلیہ صاف کر دیا ، لکھتے ہیں:
وا ماخرء ما يوكل لحمه من الطيور سوى الدجاجة والبط والاوز ونحوها فطاهر كالحمام والعصفور ونحوهما۔
Translation: It is stated in Bahar-e-Sharī’at: ‘the birds that fly high’. The translation of the above-mentioned text is: ‘the birds that pass droppings in the air’. It is stated in Radd Al-Muhtar under this text: ‘such as a pigeon and sparrow’. Based on this, the dropping of a heron is absolutely pure. The text of Al-Ghunyah has clarified this entirely. It writes: ‘As for the droppings of those birds whose meat is consumed, such as a pigeon, sparrow, etc., they are pure, except for that of the chicken, duck, goose, and other similar birds.’ (Fatawa Amjadiyah, Vol. 1, p. 33, Publ. Maktabah Razawiyah)
Regarding safeguarding the masjid from all such things which cause disgust, it is stated in Bahar-e-Sharī’at:
مسجد کو ہر گھن کی چیز سے بچانا ضروری ہے۔
Translation: It is necessary to safeguard the masjid from all disgusting things. (Bahar-e-Sharī’at, Vol. 3, p. 647, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madinah, Karachi)
وَ اللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: FSD-9262
Date: 13th Sha’ban Al-Mu’azzam 1446 AH/ 12th February 2025