What is the ruling on selling bread kneaded with water contaminated by a dead rat?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Hunting and Slaughter
Primary text
The bread baked using water in which a dead rat was found must not be sold. If it has already been sold, the seller must reclaim it. If the original buyer cannot be found, the price of the bread must be given away in charity. Furthermore, the bread itself must be fed to animals whose meat is not consumed, excluding those animals fit for slaughter unless such animals would not be slaughtered within three days, aligning with the principle of 'jalalah' (impurity from improper feed). The evidence cited relates to a narration from Ibn Umar where the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded that bread baked from the wells of those subjected to divine punishment be fed to camels ('nawadih').
Supporting text
There is a difference of opinion concerning the permissibility of feeding the contaminated bread to animals that are eaten. Concerning the issue of using meat from an animal that died of natural causes ('maytah'), one opinion is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade benefiting from it. However, it is stated that the rat in the water is not considered the ruling of a naturally dead animal ('maytah') because the contamination was accidental ('ishtubaha 'alayh').