SECTION · 29 – EATING SMALL ANIMALS THAT LIVE ON THE GROUND
3798 – It is narrated from Mulqam ibn Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), from his father Talibī (may Allah be pleased with him): I was in the company of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). I did not hear anything regarding the prohibition of animals (such as hedgehogs and lizards) that live on the ground.
3799 – It is narrated from Numayla, the father of ʿĪsā (may Allah be pleased with him), that he said: I was in the presence of Ibn ʿUmar. The question was asked about whether the meat of the hedgehog could be eaten or not. Ibn ʿUmar recited the verse from Sūrat al-Anʿām: "I do not find, in what has been revealed to me, anything forbidden..." (verse 145). Numayla said: An elderly man who was present with Ibn ʿUmar said, I heard Abū Hurayra say: The hedgehog was mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, "It is among the impure things, from the impure." Ibn ʿUmar said: If the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said so, then it is as the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said; in other words, we do not know.
EXPLANATION
Imam Abū Ḥanīfa considered eating the hedgehog to be disliked (makrūh). Imam Mālik said, "I cannot give a ruling regarding the hedgehog." Imam al-Shāfiʿī, on the other hand, said, "There is no harm in eating it." (Maʿālim al-Sunan, vol. 5, p. 313) Among the Ḥanafīs, it is also mentioned that the hedgehog is forbidden, because it is among the khabāʾith (impure things).
3800 – It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: In the Age of Ignorance, people used to eat some things and, out of aversion, refrain from eating others. Allah, the Exalted, sent His Prophet and revealed His Book. He declared what is lawful as lawful, and what is unlawful as unlawful. What He has made lawful is lawful, and what He has made unlawful is unlawful. As for what He remained silent about and did not clarify, it is forgiven. Then he recited Sūrat al-Anʿām, verse 145: "Say: I do not find, in what has been revealed to me, anything forbidden..."