Is Compost Containing Guano Permissible to Use?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I use compost containing guano from cape cormorant birds of Namibia. A prominent Mufti said seabirds’ droppings are pure as they don’t hunt with talons. But it’s scraped off the surface they live on, so likely full of feathers, with impure tips, egg shells from hatched birds, etc.
Would I assume the compost is pure or impure? Would it have changed enough if it was impure? I used it in containers, and when I water the containers, it seeps onto the patio; if the hose pipe drags through this, is the hose impure? The hose is attached to an automatic reel on the wall, which I recently secured with cable ties.
Would this now count as pure on drying? If not, if I put the hose on the grass in the rain. Will it wash it, or will the grass be impure under it?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health.
Guano is considered a light physical impurity as it is a bird’s impermissible droppings to eat. Using such impurities as fertilizer is permissible as they will eventually decompose even though some form will remain. [Tahtawi/Shurunbulali, Hashiyat Maraqi al-Falah]
Check the related answers here:
Is Guano Pure? – SeekersGuidance
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings) (seekers.flywheelstaging.com)
The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained – YouTube
Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekers.flywheelstaging.com).
I pray this helps with your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
