SECTION 41 OF THE BOOK ON ABROGATION – (THE RULING REGARDING) GAME FOR A PERSON IN IHRĀM
From Ishaq bin Abdullah bin al-Harith, from his father, may Allah be pleased with him, he related:
That Harith, the representative of Uthman in Taif, prepared for Uthman food from the meat of female and male partridges and wild game. Uthman sent a message to Ali (bin Abi Talib), may Allah be pleased with him, inviting him to the meal. When the messenger arrived, Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was fanning his camels. Shortly thereafter, they came with leaves fanning themselves for the meal. He was told, “Eat.” Then he said, "Serve this to those who are not in ihram, for we are in ihram." And I call upon the people of the As’ad tribe present here as witnesses that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while in ihram, someone gifted him meat from a wild donkey, and he did not eat it. They said, “Yes, we remember.”
COMMENTARY:
This is mentioned by Ahmad bin Hanbal in his Musnad, numbers 782-784. This hadith is evidence that a person in ihram cannot eat the meat of black game.
Hājel: means partridge; Ye’aqib: means male partridge.
From Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him:
He said, “O Zeyd bin Arqam, do you recall? The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while in ihram, was presented with the thigh of a game animal, but he rejected it and said, ‘We are in ihram.’” Zeyd bin Arqam, may Allah be pleased with him, replied, “Yes, I remember.” [592]
**Explanation:**
Another manuscript states that a portion of the hunted animal was presented to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. This hadith provides evidence that a person in ihram cannot eat game meat.
Because the animals are within the sacred territory (Haram), even if someone who is not in ihram kills one of them, its meat is prohibited, considered as carrion (maytah – dead animal).
Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated:
"I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say,"
“Hunting is permissible for you in the land as long as you do not hunt what you are in ihram for, nor is it hunted for you.” [593]
COMMENTARY
The followers of Imam al-Azam permit that an individual in ihram may consume meat from game that he has not hunted himself and which has been slaughtered by someone who is not in ihram.
According to our jurists as well, the individual in ihram may eat from game brought to him by one who is not in ihram, outside of the sacred precincts. Ata ibn Abi Rabah, Malik, ash-Shafi’i, and others state that the person in ihram cannot consume game meat at all, citing as evidence the verse: “When you are in a state of ihram, hunting is forbidden to you.” (Surat al-A'raf, verse 96).
Abu Katada (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
He was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the way to Mecca. After they had covered a portion of the distance, he and some of his companions were left behind with another man who was in ihram while he himself was not. The man saw a wild donkey and immediately jumped down from his mount and asked for his whip to be given to him. They hesitated to give it to him, so he asked for his spear. Still, they did not give it to him. So he took it himself and attacked the donkey, killing it. Some of the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ companions ate from its meat, while others did not. When they reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, they inquired whether or not it was permissible to eat [the meat]. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “It is a provision that Allah has bestowed upon you.” [594]
**Explanation:**
This honorable hadith serves as evidence that what is hunted by one who is not in ihram is permissible for one who is. Ma’mar bin Rashid narrated a hadith on this topic and placed it in the Darakutni book. There, Abu Katada said, “I hunted this for you, O Messenger of Allah.” From his saying, "I hunted this for you," he ordered the companions to eat it, but he himself did not eat. However, the wording, "I hunted this for you" and "he himself did not eat from it," is strange; these words were not narrated by anyone other than Ma’mar.
The meat of domesticated donkeys is forbidden. The meat of wild donkeys, however, is permissible.