Sale of the Skin of a Carcass

Question

I trade in buffaloes, and several buffaloes also die. May I take a price for the hides of these dead buffaloes or not? A certain religious scholar said that one should not take a price for the hide, yet if I do not take the price, I suffer considerable loss.

Answer

That religious scholar spoke correctly: buying and selling the hide of a carcass is not permissible. However, if it is tanned by applying salt and the like so that it is protected from decaying and rotting, then selling it and receiving the price becomes permissible according to the Sharia. Thus in al-Durr al-Mukhtar.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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