Are animals and their by-products (meat, hide, milk) considered pure in Islam?

Generally, yes. Living animals are considered pure, with a notable exception: the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools classify dogs and pigs as inherently impure (najis al-ayn) even while alive, meaning contact with their saliva in particular requires specific cleaning; the Maliki school, by contrast, considers all living animals pure, dogs included, focusing impurity concerns mainly on consumption rather than mere contact. As for by-products: meat, hide, wool, and milk from animals that are lawful to eat and properly slaughtered are pure and permissible. Carrion — an animal that dies without proper Islamic slaughter — is impure and unlawful to eat, alongside flowing blood and swine flesh (Quran 5:3, 6:145), though many scholars hold that the hide of an otherwise permissible animal becomes pure once properly tanned, even from an animal that died naturally, based on hadith on tanned hides. Pork and anything derived from pigs remains impure and unlawful regardless of processing, in the view of the vast majority of scholars. Fish and locusts are notable exceptions, considered lawful and pure without requiring ritual slaughter at all.

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