Short answer
Yes. In the Hanafi school the pig is impure in itself (najis al-ayn), alive or dead, and its meat, fat and skin cannot be made pure. Touching a dry pig does not make you impure and does not break wudu; if either is wet, wash the place. The Maliki school holds that a living pig is pure, though eating it is haram.
The pig is najis al-ayn: its flesh, fat, blood, skin and hair are impure, and its skin is not purified by tanning. Touching a pig is not a sin and does not break wudu, but wetness from it makes the touched place impure, and it is washed like any other impurity.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The pig is the heaviest impurity, like the dog: what it touches while wet is washed seven times, once with clean soil.
- Hanbali
- Same as the Shafi'i school: seven washes, one of them with soil.
- Maliki
- Every living animal is pure, including the pig. A dead pig and its meat are impure, and eating it is haram.
Explanation
The Quran lists the flesh of swine among forbidden foods and gives the reason: it is impure (rijs). Hanafi scholars apply this to the whole animal, so the pig differs from other forbidden animals whose skin can be tanned. Pork, lard, pig-skin leather and gelatin from pigs are all impure as well as haram.
Touching a pig, for example on a farm visit or in a school class, is different from eating it:
- Both dry: nothing passes to you, so there is nothing to wash.
- Either is wet: the touched part of your skin or clothes becomes impure. Wash it until no trace remains, three times if the impurity cannot be seen.
- Wudu: touching a pig or pork does not break wudu in any school. You only wash the impurity off.
Why is it impure? Muslims avoid pork because Allah forbade it and called it impure, not because of a theory about health. Scholars mention possible wisdom, but the ruling does not depend on it, and it stays the same however cleanly pigs are raised.
Leather goods and brushes made from pig skin or bristle should be avoided. Check ingredients like gelatin with the halal ingredient checker. For dogs, which the Hanafi school treats more lightly, see touching a dog.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-An'aam 6:145
قُل لَّآ أَجِدُ فِى مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَىٰ طَاعِمٍۢ يَطْعَمُهُۥٓ إِلَّآ أَن يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًۭا مَّسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍۢ فَإِنَّهُۥ رِجْسٌ أَوْ فِسْقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍۢ وَلَا عَادٍۢ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ﴿١٤٥﴾
Say, "I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine - for indeed, it is impure - or it be [that slaughtered in] disobedience, dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], then indeed, your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."
Gives impurity as the reason pork is forbidden.
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:173
إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْمَيْتَةَ وَٱلدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ ٱلْخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ بِهِۦ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍۢ وَلَا عَادٍۢ فَلَآ إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٧٣﴾
He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
Names pork among the forbidden foods.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on water, section on hides. Every hide is purified by tanning except that of the pig and the human.
- Bada'i al-Sana'i, Kitab al-Taharah, section on impurities. The pig is impure in its entirety.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on removing impurity. The Shafi'i view that the pig is washed like the dog, seven times.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.