Salafi Research Institute SRI
Sharḥ ʿUmdatul Aḥkām
Kitāb al-Aṭʿimah – The Book of Eating
Translated Abu Ubaydah
Translated, Checked & Additional Notes
Abu Hibban & Abu Khuzaimah Ansaari
Hunting With Trained Dogs and Arrows
[378] Narrated Hamam Ibn Harith from ‘Adi ibn Hatim (Radi Allahu Anhu) reported:
I said: Messenger of Allah (Sallalahu Alayhi Wa Sallam), I set off trained (hunting) dogs and they catch for me (the game) and I recite the name of Allah over it (I slaughter the game by reciting Bismillah-i-Allah-o-Akbar), whereupon he said: When you set off your trained (hunting) dogs, if you recited the name of Allah (while setting them off), then eat (the game). I said: Even if they (the trained (hunting) dogs) kill that (the game)? He (the Holy Prophet Sallalahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said: Even if these kill (the game), but (on the condition) that no other dog, which you did not set off (along with your dogs), participates (in catching the game). I said to him: I throw Mi’rad, a heavy featherless blunt arrow, for hunting and killing (the game). Thereupon he (Sallalahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said: When you throw Mi’rad, and it pierces (the game), then eat (it), but if it falls flatly (and beats (crushes) the game to death), then do not eat that.
And the hadith of Sha’bi from Adi is with the same meaning and in this hadith it is stated that “provided (the hunting dog) has not eaten (any part of the game). If it has eaten (the game), then you don’t eat it as I fear that it might have caught for its own self. And do not eat it if other dogs have joined your trained dogs.”
And in (another narration) it is stated, “When you let off your dog, recite the name of Allah, and if it catches (game for you) and you find it alive, then slaughter it; if you find it killed and that (your dog) has eaten nothing out of that, (even then) you may eat it; because what the trained hunting dog catches (and kills) is equivalent to sacrificing it”
And in (another narration) it is stated, “If you shoot with your arrow then mention the name of Allah” and in it “and if the game disappears from you for one or two days”
And in another narration, “If the game disappears for two or three days and you do not find on that but the mark of your arrow, then eat that it you so like, but if you find it drowned in water, then don’t eat that for in that case you do not know whether it is water that caused its death or your arrow.”
[GRADING] – [BUKHARI AND MUSLIM]
[REFERENCES]
Transmitted by
Bukhari, Book of Slaughtering and Hunting, Chapter: About hunting with a bow
Muslim, Book of The Book of Hunting, Slaughter, and what may be Eaten, Chapter: Hunting with trained dogs and arrows
[UNDERSTANDING FROM THE HADITH]
1) If a trained hunting dog catches a game and the owner released it by saying the Takbir (bismillah Allahu Akbar) and it brings it back dead then it is allowed to eat it. If it brings it back alive then you need to sacrifice it in order for it to be halal.
2) If an owners trained hunting dog carries out a hunt and other dogs become part of the hunt and they bring back the game meat then it is not allowed to eat it.
3) If an arrow (bullet) was shot at the game and at that moment the Takbir was said and you find it after two or three days and it only had the mark (wound) from the arrow and no other mark is present then you can eat it if you want to.
4) If you find the game sunk in water then you shouldn’t eat it because you don’t know if it died because of the arrow you shot or because of being drowned.
5) If a trained hunting dog or falcon (eagle, hawk) catches a game and the owner released it by saying the Takbir (bismillah Allahu Akbar) then it is allowed to eat it whether it brings it back dead or alive.
6) If an owners trained hunting dog carries out a hunt and other normal dogs become part of the hunt and they bring back the game meat then it is not allowed to eat it.
7) During hunting you should say the Takbir at the time of shooting the arrow, firing the bullet or releasing the hunting dog.
8) It is not allowed to eat the game meat that is left over after being eaten by the hunting dog.
9) If a hunting dog brings back the game animal alive to the owner then it is necessary to sacrifice it in the halal manner (if you want to eat it)
10) If a game animal gets wounded and sinks into the water then it is not allowed to eat it because there is a doubt if it died because of the wound or because of drowning. However if the amount of water it fell in is small (such as a puddle) and the hunter clearly knows it died because of the arrow (bullet) wound then it’s meat is halal to eat.
11) If you hunt using a wide spear to strike (the game) then it is allowed to eat it if the spear pierces the game however if it dies because of a small strike (that doesn’t pierce it’s body) then it is not allowed to eat it.
