What are the legal classifications regarding milk (laban)?
Chapter on Riba (Usury) and Exchange (Sarf)
Al-Mughni
Book of Sales
Primary text
There are two established legal positions concerning milk. One view maintains that milk constitutes a single category, based on prior reasoning established for meat. The second view posits that milk comprises distinct categories determined by the difference in their origin, similar to meat. This second view is the position of Al-Shafi'i and Malik, based on the premise that all livestock (An'am) belong to a single genus.
Supporting text
Ibn Aqil stated that milk from domesticated and wild cattle constitutes a single category under all narrations because the term 'cattle' encompasses both. This is considered incorrect because the meat of these two types are distinct species, thus their milk must also constitute two distinct species, analogous to camels and cattle.