HUNTING SECTION · 2 – THE RULING ON HUNTING
2847 – It is narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
I asked the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). I release my trained dog. (It catches game for me, may I eat from its meat?) I said.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When you release your trained dog and you have pronounced the basmala (the formula ‘In the name of Allah’), then eat from what it catches for you.”
I said: What if they (the dogs) kill the game? He said, “Eat even if they kill it, unless a dog upon which the basmala was not pronounced has joined in.”
I said: I throw a stick at the game, it dies, may I eat its meat?
He said, “When you throw a stick pronouncing the basmala, and the stick strikes the animal and wounds it, then eat. But if it strikes it sideways (and does not wound it), do not eat.” [564]
EXPLANATION
Harraka: If it wounds.
Mirāz: It means a piece of wood, something without a sharp end. If an animal dies from being struck with a stick without being wounded, its meat is not permissible to eat.
2848 – It is narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
I asked the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). We hunt with these hunting dogs, I said. He said to me, “When you release your trained dog and have pronounced the basmala upon it, then even if it kills the animal, eat from the meat of what it has caught for you, except if the dog has eaten from the animal it caught. If the dog has eaten from it, do not eat, for I fear it has caught it for itself.” [565]
EXPLANATION
The animal caught by a dog that eats from its prey is not permissible to eat. If the hunted animal falls into water and one cannot reach it before it dies, its meat is also not permissible to eat, because its death may have been due to drowning. If a foreign dog joins in, since it is not known whether the basmala was pronounced over it, the meat of the animal it catches is not permissible to eat.
2849 – It is narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When you shoot an arrow pronouncing the basmala over it, and you find it a day later, outside of water, and there is no wound on it except from your arrow, then eat it. But if another dog has joined your dog, do not eat it, for it may have been killed by the foreign dog, and you do not know.”
2850 – It is narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If the animal you shoot with a weapon falls into water and drowns and dies, do not eat it.” [566]
2851 – It is narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Eat from what your trained dog or your trained falcon, upon which you have pronounced the basmala, catches for you.”
I said: What if it has killed it? The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “If it has killed it but has not eaten anything from it, then it has only caught it for you.”
Abū Dāwūd said: If the falcon eats from its prey, there is no harm. But if the dog eats from it, it is disliked (makrūh) to eat the remainder. If it only drinks the blood of its prey, there is no harm.
EXPLANATION
If the dog eats from its prey, the animal it caught is not permissible to eat. If the falcon eats from its prey, according to Imām al-Aʿẓam (Abū Ḥanīfa), it is permissible to eat. According to Imām al-Shāfiʿī, if the dog or falcon eats from its prey, it is not permissible to eat.
2852 – It is narrated from Abū Saʿlaba al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the dog’s prey: “When you pronounce the basmala and release your dog for hunting, even if it has eaten from its prey, eat from what it has caught. Also eat from what you have hunted with your own hand.”
EXPLANATION
Imām Mālik, based on this hadith, says that even if the hunting dog eats from its prey, the animal it caught is lawful (ḥalāl).
Al-Khaṭṭābī explains the hadith as follows: If the hunting dog had eaten from its prey in the past, the animal it caught is lawful. Otherwise, it does not mean that if it eats from its prey now, it is lawful.
2853 – It is narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
He said: O Messenger of God, one of us shoots at game with a weapon, follows its tracks for two or three days, and then finds it dead with a wound from his arrow. May he eat it?
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Yes, if he wishes,” or “if he wishes, let him eat.”
2854 – It is narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
I asked the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) about the ruling on striking with a stick. He replied:
“If the sharp side strikes (and wounds), eat. If it strikes sideways, do not eat, for it has been killed by a blow.”
I said: I release my dog.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If you have pronounced the basmala when releasing your dog, then eat. If you have not pronounced it, do not eat. If your dog has eaten from it, do not eat, for it has only caught it for itself.”
I release my dog and find another dog over the game, I said.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Do not eat it, for you had pronounced the basmala only over your own dog.” [567]
2855 – It is narrated from Abā Saʿlaba al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him):
O Messenger of God, I hunt with my trained dog and my untrained dog, I said.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Eat from what you hunt with your trained dog, pronouncing the basmala over it. But if you hunt with your untrained, inexperienced dog, eat only if you can reach it and slaughter it.” [568]
2856 – It is narrated from Abā Saʿlaba al-Khushani (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said:
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me, “O Abū Saʿlaba, you may eat from what you hunt with your own bow and with your dog.”
From Ibn Ḥarb, the following addition is narrated: “Eat from what your trained dog and your hand have killed, whether it has been slaughtered or not.” [569]
EXPLANATION
A weapon is shot at game. If the animal does not die immediately, and a trained dog released with the basmala catches and kills it, its meat is permissible to eat even if it has not been slaughtered. If one can reach the animal while it is still alive, it must be slaughtered.
2857 – It is narrated from the grandfather of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb:
A Bedouin known as Abū Saʿlaba said: O Messenger of God, I have dogs that are fond of hunting. Give me a legal verdict about their game.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If you have dogs that are fond of hunting, then eat from what they catch for you.”
Can I eat whether it has been slaughtered or not? he asked.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Yes.”
What if the dog eats from it, may I still eat? he asked.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Even if it eats from it, you may eat.”
O Messenger of God, give me a legal verdict about my arrow, he said.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Eat from what your arrow has hunted for you, whether it has been slaughtered or not.”
Even if this game has disappeared from my sight for a while? I asked.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Yes, as long as it has not decayed or become spoiled, or unless there is a wound on it other than from your arrow, you may eat it.”
If we are compelled, give us a legal verdict about eating from the vessels of the Magians, I said.
The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Wash it and eat from it.” [570]
EXPLANATION
Mā lam yazal: It means as long as it has not decayed or become spoiled.