12. Food

Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Eating any predatory beast that has fangs, is prohibited." Related by Muslim. Muslim transmitted the same hadith on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (RAA), 'He (The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)) prohibited...' and had the additional phrase, 'and every bird with talons.' Jabir (RAA). narrated, 'On the Day of Khaibar, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited eating the flesh of domestic asses, but permitted horse flesh.' Agreed upon. Ibn Abi Aufa (RAA) narrated, 'We went on seven expeditions with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and we ate locusts.' Agreed upon. Anas (RAA) narrated regarding the story of the rabbit, 'He (Abu Talha) slaughtered it and sent its leg to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he accepted it.' Agreed upon. Ibn 'Abbas (RAA), The Messenger (ﷺ) prohibited killing four creatures; ants, bees, hoopoes and shirkes.' Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud. Ibn Hibban graded it as Sahih. Ibn Abi 'Ammar narrated. 'I said to Jabir (RAA), 'Is hyena a kind of game?' He replied, 'Yes.' I asked, 'Did Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say that?' He replied, 'Yes.' Related by Ahmad and the four Imams. Al-Bukhari and Ibn Hibban graded it as Sahih. Ibn 'Umar (RAA)narrated that he was asked about a hedgehog and he recited, "Say (O Muhammad (ﷺ) I find not in that which has been inspired to me anything forbidden." (6: 145) An old man who was present said, 'I heard Abu Hurairah say, 'It was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet (ﷺ) and he said, "It is an abomination from those things which are abominable." Ibn 'Umar then said, 'If the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said that, then it is as he said.' Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud with a weak chain of narrators. Ibn 'Umar (RAA) narrated, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited eating the animal which feeds on filth or drinks its milk." Related by the four Imams except for An-Nasai. At-Tirmidhi graded it as Hasan. Abu Qatadah narrated concerning the zebra. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ate from it.' Agreed upon. (refer to hadith no.753) Asma' bint Abi Bakr (RAA) narrated, 'During the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ), we slaughtered a horse and ate it.' Agreed upon. Ibn 'Abbas (RAA) narrated, 'The sand lizard was served as food on the table of the Prophet (ﷺ).' Agreed upon. 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Uthman al-Qurashi (RAA) narrated, 'A doctor consulted the Prophet (ﷺ) about extracting medicine from a frog but he prohibited killing it.' Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and An-Nasai. Al-Hakim graded it as Sahih. Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'If anyone owns a dog except a sheepdog, a hunting dog, or a farm dog, a carat of his reward will be deducted daily." Agreed upon. 'Adi bin Hatim (RAA) narrated, 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "When you set off your dog, mention Allah's Name (Say Bismillah), and if it catched anything for you and come up to it while it is still alive slaughter it; if you come up to it when the dog has killed it but not eaten any of it, eat it. If you find another dog with yours and the game has been killed, do not eat, for you do not know which of them killed the animal. When you shoot your arrow, mention Allah's Name and if the game goes out of sight for a day and you find it without any marks except for that arrow, eat if you wish, but if you find it drowned in water do not eat it." Agreed upon, and the wording is from Muslim. 'Adi (RAA) narrated, 'I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about hunting using a featherless arrow (al-Mi'rad) [1]. He replied, "If The game is killed with its sharp edge (the iron piece) eat it; but if it strikes with the middle part of the shart (i.e. it is not penetrated with the sharp part) and the game is killed (due to being hit with it), it is considered a Mauqudhah [2], so do not eat it." Related by Al-Bukhari. Abu Tha'labah (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "When you shoot your arrow and the game has gone our of sight, eat it when you come upon it, provided it has not become rotten." 'Aishah (RAA) narrated, 'Some people said to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), There are people who bring us meat and we do not know whether or not they have mentioned Allah's name over it.' He replied, "Mention Allah's name yourselves and eat it." Related by Al-Bukhari. 'Abdullah bin Mughaffal al-Muzani (RAA) narrated, 'The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited throwing pebbles (on animals) and said, 'Such means do not hunt a game, nor do they injure an enemy, but they only may break a tooth or gouge out an eye.' Agreed upon, and it is Muslim's version. Ibn 'Abbas (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Do not take any living creature as a target."Related by Muslim. Ka'b bin Malik (RAA) narrated, 'A woman slaughtered a sheep with a stone, so the Prophet (ﷺ) was asked about that and he ordered it to be eaten.' Related by Muslim. Rafi' bin Khadij (RAA) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "You may eat an animal which is slaughtered by any means which causes the blood to gush out as long as Allah's Name is mentioned over it, except for the tooth and the claw (not allowed to be used). The tooth is a bone and the claw is the knife of the Abyssinians (Ethiopians)." Agreed upon. Jabir bin Abdullah (RAA) narrated, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited beating a tied-animal to death." Related by Muslim. Shaddad bin Aus (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Verily, Allah has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill in the least painful manner you can; and when you slaughter an animal, do it in the best possible way; and any of you should sharpen his blade so that the animal may be spared from the suffering of the slaughtering." Abu Sa'id Khudri (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "The (legal) slaughtering of the fetus is included when its mother is slaughtered." Related by Ahmad and Ibn Hibban graded it as Sahih. Ibn 'Abbas (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "A Muslim's name is sufficient for him, so if he forgets to mention Allah's name when he slaughters an animal, he should mention Allah's name, then eat it." Related by Ad-Daraqutni but there is a weak narrator in its chain. Also there is Muhammad bin Yazid bin Sinan in its chain who is truthful but had a weak memory. 'Abdur Razzaq transmitted it with a sound chain of narrators on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas but it is not connected up to the Prophet (ﷺ). Abu Dawud narrated a similar hadith that reads, "The slaughtering (of an animal) by any Muslim is Halal (lawful) whether or not he mentioned Allah's name over it." Its narrators are reliable. Anas bin Malik (RAA) narrated, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to sacrifice two two-horned rams, mention Allah's name and say the Takbir (Allahu Akbar or Allah is the Most Great), and place his foot on their sides." In another version, "He slaughtered them with his own hands." Another version has, "Two fat rams,' and another has, 'two precious rams.' Agreed upon. In a version by Muslim, 'and would say Bismillah and Allahu Akbar.' Muslim has also reported on the authority of 'Aishah (RAA), "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ordered a horned ram with black legs, a black belly and black around its eyes, and it was brought for him to sacrifice and he said to 'Aishah (RAA), "Aishah, get the knife." Then he said, "Sharpen it with a stone." When she had done so he took it, then taking it (the ram) he placed it on the ground and slaughtered it. He then said, "Bismillah (In the name of Allah), O Allah, accept it from Muhammad, Muhammad's family and from Muhammad's Ummah (followers)." (Then he sacrificed it.' Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "He who can afford it but did not offer a sacrifice must not come near our place of prayer." Related by Ahmad and Ibn Majah. Al-Hakim graded it as Sahih. Other Imams said that it is Mawquf (i.e. it is not connected to the Prophet (ﷺ).) Jundub bin Sufian (RAA) narrated, 'I witnessed (the prayer of) 'Idul Ad-ha with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and when he finished his prayer with the people, he looked at a sheep which had been sacrificed, so he said, "Anyone who has sacrificed before the prayer must sacrifice another goat instead (of the one which he slaughtered before the prayer) and if anyone has not sacrificed he should do so in Allah's name." Agreed upon. Al-Bara bin 'Azib (RAA) narrated Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)stood among us and said, "There are four types of sacrificial animals, which are not permitted: A one-eyes animal which has obviously lost the sight of one eye, a sick animal which is obviously sick, a lame animal which obviously limps, and an old animal which has no marrow." Related by Ahmad and the four Imams. At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban graded it as Sahih. Jabir (RAA) narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Sacrifice only a full-grown animal unless it is difficult for you, in which case you should sacrifice a (six to ten month old) sheep." Reported by Muslim. 'Ali (RAA) narrated, 'Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) enjoined us to pay great attention to the eye and the ear and not sacrifice a one-eyed animal with a slit which leaves something hanging at the front or back of the ear, or with a perforation in the ear, or an animal with broken front teeth.' Related by Ahmad and the four Imams. At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim graded it as Sahih. 'Ali bin Abi Talib (RAA) narrated, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) appointed me to be in charge of his sacrificial animals, and commanded me to distribute all their meat, hides and saddlery to the poor, and not to give anything from them to the butcher." Agreed upon. Jabir (RAA) narrated, 'In the year of Hudaibiyah (Reconciliation), we sacrificed a camel for each seven people along with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), and also a cow for seven. 'Related by Muslim. Ibn 'Abbas (RAA) narrated, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) slaughtered a ram for both al-Hasan and al-Husain (at their birth).' Related by Abu Dawud, Ibn Khuzaimah, Ibn al-Garud and 'Abdul Haqq graded it as Sahih. but Abu Hatim said that it is most probably Mursal. Ibn Hibban transmitted a similar hadith on the authority of Anas. 'Aishah (RAA) narrated, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) commanded them to slaughter two sheep equal (in age) for a boy and one for a girl at their birth.' Related by At-Tirmidhi and graded it as Sahih. The Five Imams (Ahmad and the four Imams) transmitted a simialr hadith on the authority of Umm Kurz al-Ka-biyah. Samurah (RAA) narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: "Every boy is pawned against his 'Aqiqah, to be slaughtered on his behalf on the seventh day of his birth, his head is to be shaved, and he must be given a name." Related by the five Imams (Ahmad and the four Imams). At-Tirmidhi graded it as Sahih.