Short answer
No, tanned leather is pure. In the Hanafi school tanning purifies the hide of every animal except the pig, and the hide of a properly slaughtered animal is pure even before tanning. So leather shoes, jackets, belts and car seats are fine to pray in. Pigskin is najis and cannot be purified. The schools differ on hides of animals that died unslaughtered.
Every hide becomes pure by tanning except pigskin, which is najis in itself, and human skin, which may not be used out of respect. The hide of an animal slaughtered by dhabh is pure without tanning. Leather of unknown origin is treated as pure, since it has been tanned.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Tanning purifies every hide except dog and pig.
- Maliki
- In the well-known view, a tanned hide of an animal that died unslaughtered may be used for dry things and water, but is not fully pure.
- Hanbali
- In the relied view, tanning does not purify the hide of an animal that died unslaughtered; leather from slaughtered halal animals is pure.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ passed a dead sheep that had belonged to Maymunah's freed servant and asked why its owners had not made use of its skin. When they said it had died, he explained that only eating it was forbidden. He also said that when a hide is tanned, it becomes pure. The Hanafi school applies this to all hides, with the pig as the one exception.
What this means for a Hanafi:
- Leather shoes, jackets, bags, belts, wallets and watch straps: pure. Pray in them.
- Leather from a non-Muslim country or an unknown animal: pure, because tanning has purified it.
- Leather khuffs: pure, and you can wipe over them in wudu: see khuffs.
- Leather car seats, sofas and book covers: pure.
- Pigskin or pig suede: najis. Avoid it, and do not pray wearing it. Some gloves, shoe linings and cheap suede are pigskin, so check labels.
- Untanned skin of a properly slaughtered animal, such as a qurbani hide: pure.
Wearing leather in general, and luxury skins, is covered in can Muslims wear leather. For other ways things become pure, see how najis things are purified.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 366
Sahih... اذا دبغ الاهاب فقد طهر ...
"When a hide is tanned, it becomes pure."
The basis for tanned leather being pure.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1492
Sahih... هلا انتفعتم بجلدها ...
"Why did you not make use of its skin?"
Shows that the skin of a dead animal can be used once tanned.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on water, the section on hides. Every hide is purified by tanning except pig and human.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on water, purification of hides. Slaughter purifies the hide even without tanning.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on vessels, hides of dead animals. The Hanbali view that tanning does not purify the hide of an unslaughtered animal.
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.