Is it forbidden to use impure substances (najasat) to water or fertilize crops and fruits?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Hunting and Slaughter
Primary text
It is forbidden to use impurities to water or fertilize crops and fruits. The evidence for this is the narration from Ibn Abbas that they used to rent the lands of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and stipulated that the renters must not fertilize them with human excrement (arah). The reason for prohibition is that the plants feed on the impurities, and their particles ascend within them, and transformation (istihalah) does not purify them.
Supporting text
It is argued that it is merely disliked (makruh) and not forbidden, with the reasoning that the impurity transforms internally, purifying itself through transformation, similar to how blood transforms into flesh in the animal body or milk. This view is held by the majority of jurists, including Abu Hanifa and Al-Shafi'i. Furthermore, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas used animal dung to fertilize his land, stating, 'A measure of dung yields a measure of wheat.'