The Lawful and Unlawful In regards to Hunting

The conditions pertaining to the hunter are the same as those which pertain to the butcher: that he should be either a Muslim, a Jew, or Chrisitian (People of the Book) Islam teaches the hunter that he should not hunt merely for sport, taking the life of animals without intending to eat them or otherwise benefit from them. The Prophet said: “If someone kills a sparrow for sport, the sparrow will cry out on the Day of Judgement, 'O Lord! That person killed me in vain! He did not kill me for any useful purpose.' (Reported by al-Nisai ) Again, he said: “Whoever kills a sparrow or anything bigger than that without a just cause, Allah will hold him accountable on the Day of Judgement. The listeners asked, O Messenger of Allah, what is a just cause? He replied, That he kill it to eat, not to simply chop off its head and then throw it away.

Another condition is that the Muslim should not be in the state of ihram (Ihram refers to the state of consecration, physical and spiritual, of the Muslim who is performing hajj or 'umrah) Even if some game should appear right in front of him so that he could catch or kill it with a spear, it is not permissible for him to do so. This is to test and train the Believer in order to make him strong and patient. As Allah Ta'ala says: “O you who believe! Do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram.... ihram.... “ (5:98 (95)) “...And hunting is haram for you while you are in the state of ihram....” (5:2(1))

One of the conditions to hunting game is that is must be an animal that is wild and can not be brought down with a simple knife to slaughter Similarly, if one shoots an arrow at the animal or if his hunting dog has brought it down, as long as he reaches the animal while there is still abundant life remaining in it, its throat must be cut. However, although cutting the throat is preferable, if it is barely alive and the hunter leaves it to die without cutting the throat there is no harm in it. This is based on the following two Sahih's of al-Bukhari and Muslim wherein the Prophet said: “When you set your dog for the chase, mention the name of Allah. If he catches the game, and you reach it while it is still alive, cut its throat.”

Instruments of hunting fall into two categories: (a) Weapons, such as swords, arrows, and spears, as mentioned in the ayah: “...in the game which you take with your hands and your spears.... (5:97 (94)) (b) Hunting animals which can be trained, such as the dog and the leopard among beasts, and the falcon and hawk among birds. Allah says: “Say: Whatever is good is lawful for you. And eat of what is caught for you by those you have trained among hunting animals, teaching them as Allah has taught you....” (5:5 (4)

In order for an animal to be killed by a hunting weapon in a legal manner, Two (2) conditions must be met: First, the weapon should pierce the body of the animal, making a wound that bleeds. Death by mere impact does not render it halal. 'Adi bin Hatim narrated, "I asked the Messenger of Allah about game killed with a weapon. He said, "If you hurl the weapon and it pierces the game, eat it, but if it is killed by the blow of its side, do not eat it." (Bukhari and Muslim.) Accordingly, game killed by a rifle or pistol or the like is halal as the bullet will penetrate its body even more deeply than an arrow, spear, or sword and cause bleeding.

With reference to the hadith reported by Ahmad, "Do not eat what is killed by a banduqah unless you slaughter it, It should be noted that banduqah here refers to a ball of clay and not to the modern bullet. The Prophet likewise forbade throwing stones at the hunted animal, saying, "Throwing stones will not hunt the game or kill an enemy, but it may break a tooth or gouge out an eye." (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim. )

The second condition to be met when hunting with a weapon is: That the name of Allah must be mentioned when hurling or striking with the weapon, as the Prophet instructed 'Adi bin Hatim, whose reports of a hadith are the source material for this topic.

If hunting is done with a dog or falcon or the like, the following is required: First, it should be a trained animal; Second, it should catch the game for its owner and not for itself, as the Qur'an specifies; Third, the name of Allah must be mentioned while sending it for the chase. The source of these conditions is the following ayah: “They ask thee (O Muhammad) what is lawful to them (as food). Say: Whatever is good is lawful for you. And eat of what is caught for you by those you have trained among hunting animals, teaching them as Allah has taught you, and mention the name of Allah over it....” (5:5 (4))

What it means to be “trained” and “catching the game of its owner” Trained means that the animal is under the control of its owner so that when he calls it, it responds; when he sends it toward the game, it hunts it; and when he restrains it, it halts. The definition of "catching the game for its owner" is that it does not itself eat the game. The Prophet said: "If you send your dog after the game, and it eats part of it, you should not eat of it, for the dog has hunted the game for itself and not for you; but if you send the dog and it kills the game without eating it, you can eat it, as it has caught it for its master." (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Mentioning the name of Allah while sending the dog for the chase is like mentioning His name while shooting the arrow, hurling the spear, or striking with the sword. The mandatory nature of this condition has also been demonstrated by the fact that if a dog other than that of the hunter is found at the game, eating of it is not lawful. 'Adi said to the Prophet (peace be on him), "Suppose I send my dog but I find another dog at the game, and I do not know which dog caught it?" The Prophet replied, "Do not eat it, for while you mentioned the name of Allah over your dog, you did not mention it over the other dog." (Bukhari) However, if one forgets to mention Allah's name while dispatching his weapon or the hunting animal, he can make up for it by mentioning it at the time of eating, for Allah has forgiven the Muslim ummah for the errors it commits due to forgetfulness or error.

Finally - It may happen that although the game is struck by the arrow it may nevertheless escape; the hunter may find it some time —perhaps even days—later, dead. In such a case, the game is lawful food if not found under the following conditions: Found in water. The Prophet said: "If you shoot an arrow and it kills the animal, you can eat it. But if it is found in water, you do not know whether its death was caused by drowning or by your arrow." (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim ) That it has no wounds other than the wound inflicted by the arrow. 'Adi bin Hatim asked the Prophet, "What if I shoot an arrow and find the game the next morning with my arrow in it?" The Prophet replied: "If you know that your arrow killed it, and you do not find any wound inflicted by wild beasts, you may eat it." (Tirmidhi) That the game has not reached the stage of decay. Prophet told Abu Th'alabah al-Khashini, "You shoot an arrow but the game disappears for three days. If you then come upon it, you may eat what is not decayed of it."

So thus these are the fiqh guidelines for us as Muslims when it comes to Hunting: The Hunter must be of the people of the Book The Hunter should not be in the state of Ihram The animal must be one that can not be easily slaughtered The weapon used must penetrate the animal and cause it to bleed Animals used for hunting must be trained and catching the animal for you not itself. The name of Allah must be mentioned before sending the hunting animal out If the animal hunted is found dead later it is lawful to eat as long as the following does not exist” It is found in water It has wounds other that the one you afficted upon it The game has not reached decay