Hunting
This refers to the killing of an animal in the wild, which is lawful to eat, has no owner and cannot be brought under human control.
Hunting
This refers to the killing of an animal in the wild, which is lawful to eat, has no owner and cannot be brought under human control.
To hunt is perfectly permissible.
:Allah says
‘Lawful for you are grazing livestock except for that which is recited to [in this Qur'an] - hunting not being permitted while you are in the state of ihram.’
(5:1)
‘Only when you are clear of the Sacred Precincts and released from the state of consecration may you hunt.’
(5:2)
'Adiy ibn Hatim reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘If you let your trained dog loose [to pick up your game] and mention Allah’s name on it, you may eat of it.’
Related by al-Bukhari, hadith No. 5,483; Muslim, hadith No. 1,929
All this applies if hunting is needed for food. However, if it is merely for fun it is prohibited because it becomes an idle game.
‘The Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited making animals mere targets for shooting.’
Related by al-Bukhari, hadith No. 5,513; Muslim, hadith No. 1,956
Permissible and prohibited hunting
All hunting and fishing is permissible except in specific conditions:
1- It is forbidden to do any hunting in the Sacred Precincts around the Ka'bah, which is known as the Haram area. The prohibition applies to everyone, whether they are in the state of consecration (Ihram) or not. This rule is universally agreed by Muslim scholars, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said on the Day when Makkah fell to Islam:
‘This city has been consecrated by Allah ever since He created the heavens and earth [...] its plants must not be pulled out and its game must not be frightened.’
Related by al-Bukhari, hadith No. 3,189; Muslim, hadith No. 1,353.
Ibn Hajar explains that:
‘the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) phrase, its game must not be frightened” refers to hunting, as scholars say that the prohibition to frightening game applies even more emphatically to killing it.’
Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari, vol. 4, pp. 55–6
2- It is forbidden for anyone who is in the state of consecration (ihram) to hunt or to help anyone in hunting, whether by action or pointing it out or in any other way.
:Allah says
‘O you who have believed, do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram.’
(5:95)
It is also forbidden for a person in Ihram to eat of anything he has wrongfully hunted, or was hunted for him, or he helped to be hunted. Allah says:
‘but forbidden to you is game from the land as long as you are in the state of ihram’
(5:96)
When he was on his way to Makkah for his pilgrimage, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was brought a zebra as a gift by al-Sa[b ibn Jaththamah, but he could not accept it. He said to al-Sa'b:
‘It is only because we are in consecration that we have to return it.’
Related by al-Bukhari, hadith No. 1,825; Muslim, hadith No. 1,193
Conditions for the permissibility of game
Certain conditions apply to the hunter and the tool used for hunting in order to make game lawful to eat.
The same conditions that apply to the slaughterer of animals for food also apply to the hunter: he must be a Muslim, Christian or Jew and to be sane. Game killed by a madman, a drunken person, a Majian, an idolater or an apostate is unlawful to eat because the hunter is considered in the same position as the slaughterer. Animals that do not need to be slaughtered, such as all types of water animals and locusts, are also permissible to eat if they are fished or hunted by a person whose meat is forbidden to eat. Moreover, the hunter must intend to hunt, because shooting is treated in the same way as killing animals for food; the right intention is necessary.
Tools used in hunting are of two types. The first has a blade, like a sword or a knife or an arrow. It is necessary that such tools should spill the blood of the hunted animal, and are not made of bones or claws. The tool used in hunting must wound the animal with its blade, not with its weight. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says:
‘When the blood has been spilled and Allah’s name is mentioned, you may eat.’
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about the use of arrows that have no sharp edge. He said:
‘If it pierces the flesh, eat of it, but if it kills with its width, do not eat of it.’
Related by al-Bukhari, hadith No. 5,477; Muslim, hadith No. 1,929
This ruling equally applies to the use of stones, sticks, traps and metals, and other tools without a blade. However, shooting with bullets makes game permissible to eat because bullets go deep into the body and shed the animal’s blood.
The other type is using animals and birds of prey to kill game with their teeth or claws, such as dogs and falcons. It is perfectly permissible to eat game hunted in this way.
:Allah says
‘Say, "Lawful for tyou are [all] good foods and [game caught by] what you have trained of hunting animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah.’
(5:4)
A further condition is that the animals and birds of prey used for hunting must be trained how to take away game. When released, trained animals go for the game itself, and do not chase anything else, and they should stop when they are told to stop. These conditions apply particularly to hunting dogs. Wilder beasts, such as the leopard, hardly ever respond and as such it is not permissible to eat the killed animal. Properly trained birds of prey chase game when sent and come back when called. Furthermore, hunting animals must not eat of the killed animal before they bring it to the hunter.
These conditions are based on the Qur’anic verse that says:
‘They ask you, [O Muhammad], what has been made lawful for them. Say "Lawful for you are [all] good foods and [game caught by] what you have trained of hunting animals which you train,as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah.”’
(5:4)
:'Adiy ibn Hatim reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said
If you sent your dog and mentioned Allah’s name and he catches and kills the game, you may eat. If the dog eats of it, do not eat, because he only kills for himself.
Related by al-Bukhari, hadith No. 5,484; Muslim, hadith No. 1,929.
Another condition is that when the hunter sends his animal or bird of prey, he must mention Allah’s name. This is clear in the above-quoted hadith and the Qur’anic verse:
‘You may eat of what they catch for you. But mention Allah’s name over it and have fear of Allah’
(5:4)
If the hunter forgets to mention Allah’s name, the game is still lawful to eat.
If the hunter has wounded his game and finds it still alive as he gets to it, he must slaughter it in the normal way. It is unlawful to eat unless it is so slaughtered after catching it alive. If he finds it dead, it need not be slaughtered.