QuizTime(117): One who is in a state of ihraam [for Hajj and
‘Umrah] permissible to kill any Animal?
Ans: Permissible to kill “kites, crows, mice/rats, mad dogs &
Snakes”.
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Four are the vicious (birds, beasts and reptiles)
which should be killed in the state of Ihram or otherwise: kite (and vulture),
crow, rat, and the voracious dog. I (one of the narrators, `Ubaidullah b.
Miqsam) said to Qasim (the other narrator who heard it from `A'isha): What
about the snake? He said: Let it be killed with disgrace.
[Sahi Muslim Hadith 2717]
Five are the harmful things which
should be killed in the state of Ihram or otherwise: snake, speckled crow. rat.
voracious dog, and kite.
[Sahi Muslim Hadith 2718]
1) Rat/mice:
Mice and rats are harmful creatures, as
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained:
Ibn ‘Abbaas said: a mouse (or rat) came
and started dragging the wick (of the lamp). It threw it in front of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), onto the mat
on which he was sitting, and it burnt a hole the size of a dirham. He said,
“When you go to sleep, extinguish your lamps, for the Shaytaan will tell
creatures like this to do something like this so that you will be burned.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 5427.
The mice or rats that may live in
people’s houses are among the harmful creatures or vermin (fuwaysiqah) which
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to kill in
all situations, whether we are in ihraam or not. The root of the word
fuwaysiqah (fasaqa) means to deviate from the right way and to do harm; hence a
sinner is described as “faasiq”, and these animals are called fawaasiq, as a
metaphor for their evil nature; or it was said that it is because it is not
haraam to kill them, whether one is in ihraam or not, for they have no sanctity
or protection in any circumstances. Al-Tahaawi narrated in Ahkaam al-Qur’aan
with his isnaad from Yazeed ibn Abu Nu’aym that he [Yazeed] asked Abu Sa’eed
al-Khudri why mice/rats were called fuwaysiqah. He said: the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) woke up one night and saw that a mouse/rat had
taken the wick of the lamp to burn down the house of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so he got up and killed it, and
said that it was permissible to kill them whether one is in ihraam or not. This
was mentioned by al-‘Allaamah al-Dumayri.
2) Crows:
Many scholars are of the view that the crow that is desirable to
kill is the white-bellied crow that eats dead animals – and not all kinds of
crows, such as the one that eats plants and the like – contrary to the Maaliki
School, who are of the view that all kinds of crows are Fawaasiq.
3) Scorpion:
"The Prophet (saw) was stung by a scorpion while he was
performing prayer, and he said: 'May Allah curse the scorpion, for it does not
spare anyone, whether he is praying or not. Kill them whether you are in Ihram
or not.'" In Al-Hill (outside the sacred precincts of Makkah) or Al-Haram
(the sacred precincts or Makkah). Sahih
[Sunna Ibn Maja 1246]
One undeniable fact is that scorpions are venomous. Their venom is
the cause of widespread fear and at the same time, fascination. Most species
possess a sting comparable to that of a bee sting, but a few scorpion species
have a venomous sting that can be lethal to humans. Scorpion venom is a
neurotoxin, a chemical that affects the nervous system, ultimately killing or
paralyzing their prey.
4) Mad Dogs:
Dogs are of two types: those which it is
Sunnah to kill and those which are not to be killed. As for those which it is
Sunnah to kill, it is the black dog because it is a devil, and the vicious dog
because it is harmful. All other dogs are not to be killed.
If these dogs are attacking the sheep
and killing and eating some of them, then these are harmful dogs whose harm is
to be warded off even if that is by killing them; rather they should be killed
because of the mischief that they are causing. Al-Bukhaari (1829) and Muslim
(1198) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I heard
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “There
are four (creatures), all of which are vermin and may be killed inside the
sanctuary and outside: kites, crows, rats and vicious dogs.”
5)
Snake:
The Messenger (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) enjoined the killing of snakes, and this is general in
meaning and applies to all kinds of snakes, in any place. But if the snake is
inside the house, it should not be killed until it has been warned three times;
that is because of the possibility that it may be a jinn. Then if it appears
after that, it may be killed.
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may
Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) address the people from the minbar, saying: “Kill
snakes.”
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said: After that, I
would not leave any snake that I saw but I would kill it.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3299) and
Muslim (3233)
Abu Dawood (5249) narrated that Ibn
Mas‘ood said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “Kill all the snakes, and whoever fears their revenge does not belong to
me.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Abi Dawood
Allah
knows the best.
By
Mohammed Asif Ali. #MohammedAsifAli
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