Important: Are you wearing pig skin?

Asslamo Allaikum Brother, 

Very good question, Masha'Allah

I am assuming that you are Shaf'ae so Sertu may be necessary since in the Shaf'ae Madhab the skin of dog & pig CANNOT be purified by tanning. As a general rule if you touched heavy Najasah in the Sha'fae Madhab and it is WET then you will have to do Sertu and the opinion slightly differs if its dry. Please consult Ulama of the Shaf'ae Madhab and post the reply here as I am also intersted, if you don't have access to Shaf'ae Ulama please reply and I will post it to a Shaf'ae Mufti and put the Shaykh's reply here. 

Actually I sending an email to Shaf'ae Ulama (even if you are Hanafi) because this is a good and curious question and very pertinent to us in the west. 

Caution! This query is for Shaf'aees and Hanafees should consult Ulama for ruling of their own Madhab.

Q:) If a person touches PIG SKIN in the Shaf'ae Madhab, what is the purification process?

1. If the PIG skin is wet, what is the legal status of this impurity and how is purification of the hand (or any other body part) performed?
2. If the PIG skin is dry, what is the legal status of this impurity and how is purification of the hand (or any other body part) performed?
3. What if the holding of the PIG skin is accidental? Does the legal status of this impurity and puriication thereafter change?  

Jazakullah Khairun 

Very interesting reply... : - )

From Safina (Text Book of Shaf'ae Madhab):

Heavy impurity is the impurity from a dog, pig, or their offspring.

Heavy impurity becomes pure by removing it and then washing it seven times,60 one of which should be with earth.61

60 Something that becomes impure by contact and that is restricted to contamination by traces of moisture from dog or pig, whether saliva, urine or anything moist from them, or any of their dry parts that have become moist. If something dry such as the animal‟s breath or hair touches a person, it need only be removed.

 61 Earth cannot be substituted with something else like soap or detergent

Fatwa on PIG impurity (ShafiFiqh):

http://www.shafiifiqh.com/?p=945

In conclusion, there are five views transmitted, and they are,

1. The relied-upon opinion of Imam Shafi [qawl azhar] that a pig’s filth must be washed seven times, one of those being with earth.
2. An opinion of Imam Shafi that is strong enough to practice upon [muqabil al-azhar] that it must be washed seven times and another substance, like soap, suffices.
3. An opinion of Imam Shafi that is strong enough to practice upon [muqabil al-azhar] that it must be washed seven times and another substance, like soap, suffices in the absence of earth.
4. A lesser opinion that another substance, like soap, suffices when using earth will cause damage. This opinion and the three before it (1, 2, 3) apply to pigs and as well dogs.
5. An opinion of Imam Shafi that is strong enough to practice upon [muqabil al-azhar] that one washing without earth suffices. This is also the ikhtiyar of Imam Nawawi. This opinion applies to pigs only.

This is probably not known to many but as muslims i think its important we all know about this.

when a pig skin is used for something it will always leave a mark that its from pigs. The mark is three dots in a line. There are many shoes these days which are made using pig skin (probably because its cheap to make using it) .

I dont know about men shoes but i know alot of female shoes have them these days. For example in primark ive seen with my owns eyes that majority of the shoes have these three dots and not many people know about it. It quiet disgusting knowing your wearing pig skin on your feet. Mostly the sole has it and soemtimes the sides bits aswell. Heres a picture of some shoes i bought and when i came home i realised they had the three dots unfotunatly.

An old article i found on gmwa 

http://www.gmwa.org.uk/foodguide2/index.php?page=viewquestion&id=151

Using pig skin in shoes has become very common now a days.