Islamic Rulings on Eating Fanged Predator Animals, Hyenas, and Rabbits

Halal or Haram: Understanding the Permissibility of Certain Animals in Islam

What has come concerning the foods, 13th Lesson | Benefits from Muntaqaa Ibn Al-Jarood

بســـم اللــه الرحــمــن الـرحـــيــم

By Shaykh, the ‘Allaamah, the Sincere Advisor, Abu ‘Abdirrahman Yahya bin ‘Ali Al-Hajoori – may Allaah preserve him

The prohibition of eating fanged predator animals

And in it is the permissibility of eating the hyena and the rabbit because it is game and it’s meat is eaten

889 – Mahmood bin Adam narrated to us, he said Sufyan narrated to us, on the authority of Az-Zuhri, on the authority of Abee Idrees, on the authority of Abee Tha’labata al-Khushani, may Allaah be pleased with him that the Prophet ﷺ prohibited all fanged predator animals.

The chain of the hadeeth with the author is authentic

890 – Al-Hasan bin Muhammad Az-Za’faraani narrated to us, he said Muhammad bin ‘Abdillah Al-Ansari narrated to us, he said  Ibn Juraij narrated to us, he said ‘Abdullah bin ‘Ubaid bin ‘Umair narrated to us, on the authority of ‘Abdurrahman bin ‘Abdillah bin Abee ‘Ammar, he said I met Jabir bin ‘Abdillah, may Allaah be pleased with them, I said to him: “Inform me concerning the hyenna, can we eat it? He said:”Yes”, I said:”Is it game?, he said:”Yes”, I said:”You heard it from the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ? He said:”Yes”.

The hadith is authentic, all the men are trustworthy

891 – Ma’ruf bin Al-Hasan al-Hamdani narrated to us, he said ‘Abdul-Malik bin Ibraaheem, on the authority of Shu’bah, on the authority of Hishaam bin Zaid bin Anas, he said, I heard Anas, may Allaah be pleased with him say: “We surprise attacked a rabbit by the passing of Adh-Dhahraan, so the people ran after it, and i caught up to it, so I brought it to Abu Talhah, so he sent its thigh, and I think he said: Bless this to the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ so he accepted it.

Agreed upon*(Bukhari and Muslim)

Bukhari added (So he ate it)

Explanation of the three hadiths

➡️ The scholars differed concerning the eating of every fanged predator except that the difference is not that strong.

↪️ Imam Malik has a narration that opposes the statement of the majority with the prohibition, so he said it is permissible relying on the statement of Allaah:

(قُلْ لَا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا)

Which translates to what means:

(Say I find not in what has been inspired to me anything forbidden..)the verse

🔹 It is responded with that this verse is specific or abrogated, by the hadiths which point to prohibition of all predators which have fangs.

• ↪️ And he has another statement of prohibition which agrees with the statement of the majority.
  An-Naab: It is the tooth after the incisors.
• As-Sabu’: It is the predator from the animals
• Afajnaa: We surprised attacked it so it hopped

🔹 Benefit

The majority say every predator with fangs is prohibited but they differed in some of its types like:

↪️ The fox: And the most correct opinion is that it enters (into the prohibition) because it hunts the chicken and things like it.

↪️ And likewise they mentioned the elephant, it has tusks but it is a peaceful animal it doesn’t hunt with it.

↪️ And the ones who said it is permissible used as a proof the original state (that all things are permissible until evidence that suggests it is impermissible) and with his statement:

(قُلْ لَا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا)

Which translates to what means:

(Say I find not in what has been inspired to me anything forbidden..)the verse,

And there is nothing which points to it being impermissible and this statement is strong.

➡️ The ruling on eating the hyenna

The scholars differed concerning it,

▪️And the most correct opinion is that it is permissible due to the hadith in this chapter.

So it is an exception to the hadith (he forbade every fanged predator animal).

▪️And it has come from Sa’d bin Abee Waqqaas that he used to eat it and similarly Ibn ‘Abbaas.

▪️ And it is the statement of Ahmed and Shaafi’ee

▪️ And Imam Malik and Abu Haneefah declared it to be makruh (disliked).

➡️ Impermissability of every fanged predator animal:

fanged

It hunts with it on others like the lion and the leopard, and the wolf, and panther, and they joined the dog with them, and it’s like from what it has fangs to hunt with and overcomes with it and in the forest they are plenty.

🔵 And this is from the speech of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ which is little but carries a broad meaning.

Every animal with a fang is prohibited to eat except what is exempted like the hyena as comes in the hadith.

➡️ And the scholars differed concerning the ruling of eating fanged predator animals, except that the difference is weak.

The permissibility of eating the hyenna

↪️ The hadith of the hyena is an authentic hadith, and it is authentically established from some of the companions that it is game.

↪️ The hadith of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ (The hyena is game, and a sheep is owed if one hunts it in the state of ihram)

↪️ The desert lizard was eaten on the table of the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ but he ﷺ didn’t eat from it because he didn’t like it.

🔹 The point of benefit is that hyenna is permissible due to this hadith even if it was disliked by some.

Ash-Shawkaani, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: “concerning the hadith of the permissibility of eating the hyenna that the hadith of that chapter is exempted and that people still sell it between Safaa and Marwaa, and that it is allowed, and that the hadith everything with fangs is specified.”

➡️ The second position is that it’s not allowed to eat, and they used as proof the generality of the hadith of every fanged predator animal.

🔹 Conclusion: The permissibility of eating the hyena.

➡️ The ruling on eating the rabbit

➡️ The hadith of this chapter has come with the permissibility of it and it is in the Sahih (Bukhari).

➡️ And the hadith of Khuzaimah has opposed it.

↪️ And all the scholars are aware of the permissibility of it.

↪️ And it has come from ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar that he disliked it, but nothing is authentically established in that.

↪️ And all the scholars are upon its permissibility, and the differing concerning it is weak, they used as a reason for its prohibition because it has menstrual cycles.

Transcribed to Arabic and summarised by:

By Hamood Ath-Thawaabi

may Allah reward him with good

on the 24th, Thil-Hijjah, 1439H

Translated by:

Abu ‘Abdillah ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi