The spinal marrow (nukha')

النُّخَاع

Nukha', in the lexicon, is the white vein inside the neck running along the spine to the coccyx; mukh is the brain or marrow, and nukha' is narrower; faqra is the vertebra that holds it. A prohibition on nakh' (cutting the spinal cord) in slaughter is related on the authority of Ibn Abbas, which al-Bayhaqi judged weak, and the jurists differ on its ruling; the detail is under slaughter. The jurists also treat head wounds that reach the spinal cord, such as the hashima and the munaqqila, and give their rulings under diyya (blood money). ¹ ²

Summary

Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation

In the lexicon, adhm is the bone that has flesh on it, plural 'idham and 'izam. Most jurists hold that a human bone is pure, whether living or dead, of a Muslim or not; that a fish bone stays pure after death; and that the bone of a lawfully slaughtered edible animal is pure and may be used. The bone of carrion, or of a non-edible animal, is impure according to the Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Ishaq, and cannot be purified; the Hanafis hold it pure, and 'Umar disliked oiling in ivory. On cleansing after excretion with a bone, the Shafi'is and Hanbalis forbid it; the Hanafis dislike it as forbidden but accept that it suffices; the Malikis forbid a carrion bone and allow a pure bone with disapproval. Most jurists allow retaliation for a bone only at a joint, since equality cannot be achieved elsewhere.

The spinal marrow (nukha')

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Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation