Can the skin of an animal that was sacrificed to something other than Allah be purified by means of tanning?

Praise be to Allah.

If an animal has been sacrificed to something other than Allah, it is prohibited to eat it, and it comes under the same ruling as meat of a dead animal or an animal that was not slaughtered in the prescribed manner (maytah, “dead meat”).

Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

That which was sacrificed to something other than Allah, such as that which is sacrificed to the occupants of the graves, or to idols, or to the jinn, is “dead meat” and it is not permissible to eat it. Allah, may He exalted, says:

{Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah}

[al-Ma’idah 5:2].

End quote from Ibn Baz: Fatawa Nur `ala ad-Darb, 2/14.

For more information, please see the answer to question no. 127965.

With regard to purifying the skin of the animal that was not slaughtered in the prescribed manner – which includes that which was sacrificed to something other than Allah – by tanning it, this is one of the issues concerning which there was a difference of opinion among the scholars: can any skin be purified by means of tanning, or does the ruling only apply to animals whose flesh may be eaten, or the skin of any animal that was pure when it was alive? There is a difference of opinion among the scholars.

The view that we follow on this website is that only the skin of animals whose flesh may be eaten is that which may be purified by means of tanning. The skin of any other animal cannot be purified by means of tanning. For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 221753, 197680, 147632 and 144270.

Based on that, we need to know about that animal that was slaughtered for something other than Allah. If it was an animal whose flesh may be eaten – which is what appears to be the case – such as cows, sheep and camels – for example – then the skin of such animals may be purified by means of tanning. The most that can be said about it is that it is “dead meat” or an animal that was not slaughtered in the prescribed manner, and the skin of “dead meat” that may be eaten [if the animal had been slaughtered in the prescribed manner] may be purified by means of tanning, and there is no difference of scholarly opinion regarding that.

But if it is came from an animal whose flesh cannot be eaten, such as a pig, then its skin cannot be purified by means of tanning.

And Allah knows best.