Riding an Elephant and the Water from Its Trunk

Question

Is riding an elephant permissible or not? And the water that an elephant, because of the heat, sprays from its trunk as it walks along the road — is it pure or impure?

Answer

Riding an elephant is valid (permissible) according to the position of the two Shaykhs (al-Shaykhayn — Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Abu Yusuf), and this is the preferred (mukhtar) position. The water that comes out of the trunk is impure (najis).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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