There is no difference of opinion regarding the general permissibility of eating water buffalo meat.
(See: Fatawa Ashab al-Hadith by Fadilat al-Shaykh Abu Muhammad Abdul Sattar Hammad, p. 462; Fatawa Ulama-e-Hadith 13/73; and Fatawa Thana’iyyah 1/809)
However, regarding its sacrifice, there are three opinions among the people of knowledge, which we will discuss in detail.
Some scholars do not consider the sacrifice of a water buffalo to be permissible. This is because it is a condition for the sacrificial animal to be from the Bahimatul An’am (livestock animals). These are the Thamaniyah Azwaj (eight pairs), namely the camel, cattle, goat, and sheep, along with their female counterparts, making eight. The water buffalo is not among them. Therefore, the water buffalo is not a sacrificial animal, and its sacrifice is not permissible or correct. In support of this view, Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai states:
● Fatwa of Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai (may Allah preserve him)
The sacrifice of the camel, cow, sheep, and goat is established from the Qur’an and Sunnah. It is absolutely correct that the water buffalo is a type of cattle; there is a consensus of the Imams of Islam on this matter.
Imam Ibn al-Mundhir says:
وَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَى أَنَّ حُكْمَ الْجَوَامِيسِ حُكْمُ الْبَقَرِ
“And they have unanimously agreed that the ruling for water buffaloes is the same as the ruling for cattle.”
(Al-Ijma’, Kitab al-Zakah, p. 43, ref: 91)
Ibn Qudamah writes:
لَا خِلَافَ فِي هَذَا نَعْلَمُهُ
“We know of no difference of opinion in this matter.”
(Al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 240, issue: 1711)
Regarding Zakat, there is a consensus that the water buffalo belongs to the genus of cattle. This is evidence that the water buffalo is indeed a type of cattle. However, since there is no explicit proof of the Prophet (ﷺ) or his companions (RA) sacrificing a water buffalo, it is better not to sacrifice it. Instead, one should only sacrifice a cow, camel, sheep, or goat, as this is the more cautious approach. And Allah knows best.
Among the proponents of impermissibility are the following respected scholars:
⓵ Mujtahid al-Asr Hafiz Abdullah Ropari (rahimahullah) / Fatawa Ahl-e-Hadith 2/426
⓶ Shaykh al-Hadith Mufti Faiz-ur-Rahman Faiz (rahimahullah) / Fatawa-e-Faiz 47, 158, 162 / and Risalah Aaina-e-Tahqiq
⓷ Maulana Abdul Sattar Hammad / Haftroza Ahl-e-Hadith, issue 15, 48 – 21 December / Fatawa Ashab al-Hadith 3/404
⓸ Hafiz Imran Ayyub Lahori / Fiqh al-Hadith 2/475
⓹ Muhammad Rafiq Tahir
The sacrifice of a water buffalo is permissible, and the primary reason for this is that the water buffalo is a species of cattle. The scholars of Arabic lexicography, commentators of the Qur’an, hadith scholars and their commentators, and the jurists of the Ummah, especially the four Imams and the scholars of their schools of thought, have unanimously classified it as a species of cattle.
In this regard, we present the statements of distinguished scholars of Arabic lexicography from every era:
⓵══┅┄ The statement of Layth bin Abi Sulaym, a Tabi’i (who became confused in his old age) (d. 138/148 AH):
اَلْجَامُوسُ وَالْبُخْتِيُّ مِنَ الْـأَزْوَاجِ الثَّمَانِیَۃِ .
“The water buffalo (a type of cattle) and the Bakhti (a type of camel) are from the eight pairs that Allah the Almighty has mentioned.”
(Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim: 5/1403, and its chain is Hasan)
⓶══┅┄ The Imam of Arabic language and literature, Abu Mansur Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Azhari al-Harawi (282-370 AH), states:
وَأَجْنَاسُ الْبَقَرِ، مِنْھَا الْجَوَامِیسُ، وَاحِدُھَا جَامُوسٌ، وَھِيَ مِنْ أَنْبَلِھَا، وَأَکْرَمِھَا، وَأَکْثَرِھَا أَلْبَانًا، وَأَعْظَمِھَا أَجْسَامًا .
“Among the species of cattle are the Jawamis (water buffaloes). Its singular is Jamus. It is the noblest and finest type of cattle. Among all types of cattle, it gives the most milk and is the largest in body.”
(Al-Zahir fi Gharib Alfaz al-Shafi’i, p. 101)
⓷══┅┄ The Imam of lexicography, Allamah Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali bin Isma’il, known as Ibn Sidah (398-458 AH), writes:
وَالْجَامُوسُ نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْبَقَرِ .
“The water buffalo is a species of cattle.”
(Al-Muhkam wa al-Muhit al-A’zam: 7/283)
⓸══┅┄ The Arabic linguist and lexicographer, Abu al-Fath Nasir bin ‘Abd al-Sayyid al-Mu’tazili al-Mutarrizi (538-610 AH), writes:
وَالْجَامُوسُ نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْبَقَرِ .
“The water buffalo is from the species of cattle.”
(Al-Mughrib fi Tartib al-Mu’rib, p. 89)
⓹══┅┄ The famous jurist and hadith scholar, Allamah ‘Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Muhammad, known as Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (rahimahullah) (541-620 AH), states:
وَالْجَوَامِیسُ نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْبَقَرِ، وَالْبَخَاتِي نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْإِبِلِ .
“Water buffaloes are a species of cattle, and Bakhti are a species of camel.”
(Al-Kafi fi Fiqh al-Imam Ahmad: 1/390)
⓺══┅┄ The grandfather of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah), the hadith scholar and commentator, Abu al-Barakat ‘Abd al-Salam bin ‘Abdullah al-Harrani (rahimahullah) (590-652 AH), states:
وَالْجَوَامِسُ نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْبَقَرِ .
“Water buffaloes are a species of cattle.”
(Al-Muharrar fi al-Fiqh ‘ala Madhhab al-Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal: 1/215)
⓻══┅┄ The commentator of Sahih Muslim, the renowned linguist, Hafiz Abu Zakariyya Yahya bin Sharaf al-Nawawi (rahimahullah) (631-676 AH), in his commentary on the book Al-Tanbih fi al-Fiqh al-Shafi’i by Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi (393-474 AH), states:
وَیُنْکَرُ عَلَی الْمُصَنِّفِ کَوْنُہ، قَالَ : وَالْجَوَامِسُ وَالْبَقَرُ، فَجَعَلَہُمَا نَوْعَیْنِ لِلبَقَرِ، وَکَیْفَ یَکُونُ الْبَقَرُ أَحَدَ نَوْعَيِ الْبَقَرِ ۔۔۔۔۔، قَالَ الْـأَزْھَرِيُّ : أَنْوَاعُ الْبَقَر، مِنْھَا الجَوَامِیسُ، وَھِيَ أَنْبَلُ الْبَقَرِ .
“The author’s statement [وَالْجَوَامِیسُ وَالْبَقَرُ] is objectionable, as he has classified them both as species of cattle. How can cattle itself be one of the two species of cattle (i.e., water buffalo and cattle)? … Al-Azhari says that the water buffalo is a species of cattle and it is the noblest of all cattle species.”
(Tahrir Alfaz al-Tanbih, p. 106)
⓼══┅┄ Allamah Abu al-Fadl Muhammad bin Mukarram al-Ansari, known as Ibn Manzur al-Ifriqi (630-711 AH), who holds the rank of an Imam and authority in the Arabic language, states:
وَالْجَامُوسُ نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْبَقَرِ .
“The water buffalo is a species of cattle.”
(Lisan al-Arab: 6/43)
⓽══┅┄ The famous linguist, Allamah Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad bin Muhammad bin ‘Ali al-Hamawi (d. 770 AH), writes:
وَالْجَامُوسُ نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْبَقَرِ .
“The water buffalo is a species of cattle.”
(Al-Misbah al-Munir fi Gharib al-Sharh al-Kabir: 1/108)
⓾══┅┄ In the famous and well-known book of Arabic lexicography, “Taj al-‘Arus,” it is written:
اَلْجَامُوسُ نَوْعٌ مِّنَ الْبَقَرِ .
“The water buffalo is from the species of cattle.”
(Taj al-‘Arus min Jawahir al-Qamus by Abu al-Fayd al-Zabidi: 15/513)
⑪══┅┄ In the well-known Arabic dictionary “Al-Mu’jam al-Wasit,” it states:
اَلْجَامُوسُ حَیَوَانٌ أَھْلِيٌّ، مِنْ جِنْسِ الْبَقَرِ .
“The water buffalo is a domestic animal from the genus of cattle.”
(Al-Mu’jam al-Wasit: 1/134)
Furthermore, the same book states:
اَلْبَقَرُ : جِنْسٌ مِّنْ فَصِیلَۃِ الْبَقَرِیَّاتِ، یَشْمَلُ الثَّوْرَ وَالْجَامُوسَ .
“Baqar (cattle) is a genus from the Bovidae family, which includes the bull (cow) and the water buffalo.”
(Al-Mu’jam al-Wasit: 1/65)
According to the unanimous statements of Arabic linguists, commentators of the Qur’an, hadith scholars, and jurists of the Ummah, especially the four Imams and the scholars of their schools, the water buffalo is a species of cattle; therefore, its sacrifice is permissible.
The following scholars, from the early to the later generations, are among the majority of the Ummah’s scholars who support the permissibility of sacrificing the water buffalo:
The cautious approach is not to sacrifice a water buffalo. This is because it is a condition for the sacrificial animal to be from the Bahimatul An’am, and the water buffalo is not among them.
Regarding the sacrificial animal, Allah the Almighty states:
ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ ۖ مِّنَ الضَّأْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْمَعْزِ اثْنَيْنِ ۗ قُلْ آلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ الْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۖ نَبِّئُونِي بِعِلْمٍ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ، وَمِنَ الْإِبِلِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ اثْنَيْنِ ۗ
(الانعام:143-144)
Translation: “Eight pairs: of the sheep two and of the goats two. Say, ‘Has He forbidden the two males or the two females or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Inform me with knowledge, if you should be truthful.’ And of the camels two and of the cattle two.” (Al-An’am: 143-144)
Allah has specified eight types of sacrificial animals by name, whereas the animals that can be eaten are numerous. The eight types are: two types of goats (male and female), two types of sheep (male and female), two types of camels (male and female), and two types of cattle (male and female). This implies that no ninth animal should be included for sacrifice among these types. The water buffalo is not mentioned in these types. It is said that the water buffalo was not known in Arabia at that time and that it is of the same genus as cattle. Its ruling is the same as that of cattle, whether for Zakat, sacrifice, or for eating its meat and drinking its milk. It is correct that the water buffalo was not common in Arabia, but the water buffalo existed in the world. Allah is its Creator, and He does not forget anything. If He had willed, He could have mentioned it in the list of sacrificial animals.
In summary, the water buffalo is a halal animal. Some linguists have classified the water buffalo as a type of cattle, and some scholars have also cited a consensus on this. However, since the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions (RA) did not practically perform its sacrifice, it is more cautious not to sacrifice a water buffalo.
(This is the opinion of the author of Mir’at al-Mafatih, Shaykh al-Hadith ‘Ubaydullah Rahmani Mubarakpuri, and Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai, etc.)
Note: It should be clear that Shaykh al-Hadith (rahimahullah) in Mir’at al-Mafatih wrote about permissibility with caution. However, in his collection of Fatawa, he issued a fatwa for the absolute permissibility of the sacrifice of the water buffalo.
(See: Fatawa Shaykh al-Hadith ‘Ubaydullah Rahmani Mubarakpuri (rahimahullah), compiled and arranged by Fawaz ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ‘Ubaydullah Mubarakpuri, 2/400 / Dar al-Iblagh, Lahore)
And the correct position is that the water buffalo should not be made a cause of dispute regarding sacrifice. It is a simple matter: if an animal from the eight types mentioned in the Qur’an is available in our area, we should sacrifice it, as there is no doubt or difference of opinion about it. However, numerous scholars have considered the water buffalo to be of the same genus as cattle and have provided a basis for the permissibility of its sacrifice on these grounds. The scholars of Arabia also hold the view of permissibility. Therefore, if someone’s heart is content with this, no pressure should be exerted on them. Therefore, out of precaution, the sacrifice of a buffalo should not be done.
وَبِاللّٰہِ التَّوْفِیْقُ
وَصَلَّی اللّٰہُ عَلٰی نَبِیَّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِہ وَصَحْبِہ وَسَلَّمَ
وعلى آله وأصحابه وأتباعه بإحسان إلى يوم الدين۔
ھٰذٙا مٙا عِنْدِی وٙاللہُ تٙعٙالیٰ اٙعْلٙمْ بِالصّٙوٙاب
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