Appearance
Verses 94–99
The verses describe the law regarding the game of land and sea when a man is in the state of sanctity, wearing the robes of pilgrims.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لَيَبْلُوَنَّكُمُ اللَّهُ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الصَّيْدِ تَنَالُهُ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَرِمَاحُكُمْ لِيَعْلَمَ اللَّهُ مَن يَخَافُهُ بِالْغَيْبِ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ٩٤
(5:94) O you who believe! Allah will certainly try you in respect of some game which your hands and your lances can reach, that Allah might know who fears Him in secret; but whoever exceeds the limit after this, he shall have a painful punishment.
al-Balā’ (test, trial); layabluwannakum (will certainly try you); la is for oath, which together with the doubling of ‘n’ connotes emphasis and intensity. The word: “some game”, indicates insignificance, in order that it would help the audience to comply with the coming prohibition. The clause: “which your hands and your lances can reach,” includes in its ambit game which can be caught easily by hand, like young birds, cubs of wild animals and eggs; or with difficulty like big games that usually cannot be hunted except with arms.
This verse apparently aims at paving the way for the severe law which follows in the next one; and that is the reason that this clause is followed by the words: that Allah might know who fears Him in secret; as it indicates that the ensuing law would be prohibitive; then comes the concluding statement: but whoever exceeds the limit after this he shall have a painful punishment.
that Allah might know who fears Him in secret: It is not unlikely that the divine words: “God will certainly try you … that God might know,” allude to the fact that He will certainly foreordain it in order to distinguish those of you who fear God in secret from those who do not fear Him. Obviously, God is not afflicted by ignorance, which should be removed by knowledge! A full explanation of the meaning of test has been given under the verse: Do you think that you will enter the garden … (), in the fourth volume of this book; and also another meaning of knowledge was given earlier. As for the clause: “who fears Him in secret,” the adverb: “in secret”, is related to: “fears”; fearing in secret indicates that man fears his Lord and is cautious of the next world’s punishment and its sufferings which the Lord has warned him of all those aspects that are unseen for man, and he does not perceive any part of it with his five senses. God says: You can only warn him who follows the reminder and fears the Beneficent God in secret; … (); And the garden shall be brought near to those who guard (against evil), not far off: This is what you were promised, for every one who turns frequently (to God), keeps (his limits); who fears the Beneficent God in secret and comes with a patient heart (); Those who fear their Lord in secret and they are fearful of the hour ().
The clause: “but whoever exceeds the limit after this,” means: Whoever exceeds the limit which God fixes for him after the said test and trial, shall have a painful chastisement.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَقْتُلُواْ الصَّيْدَ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ وَمَن قَتَلَهُ مِنكُم مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاء مِّثْلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ النَّعَمِ يَحْكُمُ بِهِ ذَوَا عَدْلٍ مِّنكُمْ هَدْيًا بَالِغَ الْكَعْبَةِ أَوْ كَفَّارَةٌ طَعَامُ مَسَاكِينَ أَو عَدْلُ ذَلِكَ صِيَامًا لِّيَذُوقَ وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِ عَفَا اللَّهُ عَمَّا سَلَف وَمَنْ عَادَ فَيَنتَقِمُ اللَّهُ مِنْهُ وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ ذُو انتِقَامٍ ٩٥
(5:95) O you who believe! Do not kill game while you are in the pilgrim garb, and whoever among you shall kill it intentionally, the compensation (of it) is the like of what he killed, from the cattle, as two just persons among you shall judge, as an offering to be brought to the Ka’bah or the expiation (of it) is the feeding of the poor or the equivalent of it in fasting, that he may taste the unwholesome result of his deed; Allah has pardoned what is gone by; and whoever returns (to it), Allah will inflict retribution on him; and Allah is Mighty, Lord of Retribution.
al-ḥurum: This term describes someone in pilgrim garb. It’s a unique adjective resembling a verb. (al-Ṭabrisī) writes: “Ḥarām and muḥrim mean the same thing, referring to someone in a state of sanctity, just like ḥalāl and muḥill are opposites and also share meanings. The act of entering into a sacred state, such as the time of Hajj or entering a holy sanctuary, is expressed by the word aḥrama. The term al-Ḥarm specifically refers to the pilgrim’s clothing. For example, there’s a saying about applying perfume to the Prophet for his iḥrām (ritual consecration). The root (ḥ-r-m) generally signifies protection or prohibition, like how women are referred to as ḥaram, meaning they are under protection, and al-maḥrūm describes someone who is deprived of sustenance.”
He has also said: Al-Mithl, al-mathal, al-shibh, and al-Shabah all mean ‘like’ or ‘likeness.’
He says: al-Na’am denotes camel, cow, sheep, and goat. However, it specifically refers to a camel when used alone. Cows, sheep, or goats, when mentioned separately, are not categorized under al-Na’am, as noted by al-Zajjāj.
Again he says: “Al-Farrā’ explains that al-’Adl refers to something that equals another thing from a different species. Al-’Idl, on the other hand, means likeness or similarity, like having a slave or goat similar to someone else’s. Baṣrite grammarians state that both al-’adl and al-’idl can mean ‘like,’ regardless of whether the items are of the same type.
Also, he has said: “al-Wabāl (translated here as ‘the unwholesome result’) means a heavy burden or hardship in an unpleasant situation; accordingly they say: Ta’ām wabīl and mā’ wabīl when the food and water are heavy, not nourishing; thus God says: … so We laid on him a violent hold (); that is, heavy and hard; and for this reason, the board of washerman is called wabīl.”
The words: “Do not kill game while you are in the pilgrim garb,” forbid the killing of game. But it is partially elaborated by the next verse: Lawful to you is the game of the sea—this explains the kind of game; and the nature of killing is elaborated by the next sentence: “and whoever among you shall kill it intentionally …” The word: ‘intentionally’ is the circumstantial clause related to: “whoever among you shall kill it.” Apparently, intentional killing is opposite of unintentional one, that is, killing without intention, e.g. one shoots arrow to a certain target, and it missing the target hits a game. The verse makes it clear that he must pay the compensation if he did have the intention of killing the game, no matter whether he remembered that he was in the pilgrim garb, or had forgotten it or was oblivious to it.
The sentence: “the compensation (of it) is the like of what he killed, from the cattle, as two just persons among you shall judge, as an offering to be brought to the Ka’bah.” Its meaning is clear: He has to offer a compensation, which should be like the game he has killed; it should be from a kind of cattle which is like the killed game; that similar cattle will be decided by two just religious persons among you; that offering should be brought to the Ka’bah and slaughtered in the sanctuary in Mecca or Minā, as explained by the Prophetic sunnah.
Grammatically the word: ‘compensation’ is a subject whose predicate is omitted (although this aspect is lost in English translation. Trans.). The clauses: “the like of what he killed, from the cattle,” and, “two just persons … shall judge,” are descriptions of the compensation; the clauses: “an offering,” and “to be brought to the Ka’bah,” are the noun and its adjective, respectively, while the “offering” is the circumstantial clause related to “the compensation” as described above. The verse has been analyzed in some other ways too.
The clauses: “or the expiation (of it) is the feeding of the poor or the equivalent of it in fasting,” lay down two other options for the expiation of killing a game. The particle, ‘or’, does not show more than mere alternativeness, and its elaboration comes from the sunnah; however, the verse, first names the feeding of the poor as its expiation, and then mention its equivalent fasting, and it is not without some indication of sequence between these alternatives.
The clause: “that he may taste the unwholesome result of his deed“: The letter, l (that) indicates the objective; this and the preceding sentences to which it is attached, show that it is a kind of retribution.
Allah has pardoned what is gone by; and whoever returns (to it), Allah will inflict retribution on him; and Allah is Mighty, Lord of Retribution: Pardon is bestowed to what is gone by. It shows that “what is gone by“ refers to those game killings, which had occurred before the verse was revealed giving this law. Obviously, if pardon was to apply to the game killed when it was being revealed or after its revelation, it would contradict the law. This sentence was revealed to remove the possible misunderstanding that the law of compensation was retroactively applicable to the incidents preceding the time of revelation.
The verse proves that pardon may be applied to such deeds too which are not sins, provided those deeds contain evil, which by their nature would be liable to attract legislative prohibition. The clauses: “and whoever returns (to it), God will inflict retribution on him; and God is Mighty, Lord of Retribution.” Apparently, returning to it means repeating the sin, and the clause: “God will inflict retribution on him,” speaks about future recurrence, not to a present order. It shows that the returning means repeating the deed that had attracted compensation, and the divine retribution refers to something other than the imposed compensation.
In this backdrop, the verse, together with the preceding and the following ones, deals with various aspects of the law of killing the game. God has pardoned those who had done so before revelation of the law; but he who would kill a game after law was promulgated, would have to offer in compensation cattle like of what he had killed—this is for the first offence. However, if he repeats the sin, God will inflict retribution on him, and there is no compensation on him. This is seen in most of the traditions of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt which deal with the explanation of this verse.
Had not this explanation been given in traditions, we would have to say that the retribution, mentioned in the clause: “God will inflict retribution,” covered general laws including expiation; and the returning connoted killing a game again; it would then mean: Whoever indulged in killing a game as they were doing before promulgation of this law—that is, whoever would kill a game—God would inflict retribution on him—that is, would make him liable to pay the compensation/expiation. But, as you see, this meaning is far from the wording of the verse.
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُ مَتَاعًا لَّكُمْ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَرِّ مَا دُمْتُمْ حُرُمًا وَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ الَّذِيَ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ ٩٦
(5:96) Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food, a provision for you and for the travellers, and the game of the land is forbidden to you so long as you are in the pilgrim garb, and fear Allah, to Whom you shall be gathered.
All these verses aim at describing the law of hunting (intentionally, while the hunter is in iḥrām) on land or in sea. It proves that what is made lawful in this verse is hunting the game of the sea, not (only) its eating; in this context, the word, ṭa’āmuhu (which can be translated as, its food, or its eating) gives here the meaning of food, and not of eating; and it means that you are allowed to eat from the game of the sea. In short, the verse says that you are allowed to hunt the game of the sea, and also to eat from what you have hunted.
The seafood covers what is hunted from it, like good meat of the game, as well as what is thrown up by sea like a dead animal, etc. However, the traditions of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt explain it as good meat of game, salted or otherwise.
The words: “a provision for you and for the travellers,” is a circumstantial clause related to “the game of sea and its food.” It contains a shade of bestowal of gracious boon.
The verse is addressed to the believers who are in condition of iḥrām; therefore the clause: “a provision for you and for the travelers,” may be translated as, a provision for those in the condition of iḥrām and for others.
It should be noted that there are numerous topics of jurisprudence contained in these verses, which are written in detail in the books of fiqh; and whoever wants to know more should refer to those books.
جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الْكَعْبَةَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَرَامَ قِيَامًا لِّلنَّاسِ وَالشَّهْرَ الْحَرَامَ وَالْهَدْيَ وَالْقَلائِدَ ذَلِكَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ٩٧
(5:97) Allah has made the Ka’bah, the Sacred House, a sanctuary for the people, and the sacred month and the offerings and the (animals with the) garlands; this is that you may know that Allah knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and that Allah is the Knower of all things.
The talk begins with the Ka’bah, which is followed by its explicative apposition the Sacred House; then month is described with the attribute, the sacred, which is followed by the offerings and the animals with garlands, which in their turn are related to the sanctity of the House. All this shows that the essential prerequisite of this verse’s topic is Sanctity.
Qiyām (that with which something stands). al-Rāghib has said: “al-Qiyām and al-Qawām is the name of that with which a thing stands, that is, remains firm; like al-’imād (pillar) and al-sinād (prop) which are used for that with which a thing remains upright; as God says: And do not give away your property which Allah has made for you a (means of) support to the weak of understanding … (), that is, He has made it for you a means to keep you upright; and He says: Allah has made the Ka’bah, the Sacred House, a support for the people, that is, it provides their means of support in this life and in the hereafter; al-Aṣamm has said: ‘(It means), firmly standing which will not be abrogated. It has an alternative version, qayyiman, with the same meaning.’”
The verse basically means that God has made the Ka’bah a sacred house and laid down its sanctity. Also, He has made some months sacred, and joined them together in some respects, like the ḥajj which is done in the sacred month of Dhi ‘l-Ḥijjah. He has also ordained something connected to it, which share in this sanctity like sacrificial animals (marked as such by cutting off a piece of their ears, or putting garlands on their necks). All this has been prescribed as a means of support for the people’s blissful social life.
So, He has prescribed the Sacred House as the qiblah, towards which the people face in their prayers, keep to it the faces of their dead bodies and slaughtered animals, and maintain its respect in their shameful conditions (that is, they do not face it while evacuating the bowels). In this way their community is united and their ties are strengthened; their religion is revived and maintained; they come to it for ḥajj from different lands and furthest regions, and therein witness advantages for themselves and proceed on the path of servitude. The people throughout the world get guidance by the Ka’bah’s name, by its remembrance and by looking at it. They seek divine nearness through it and by fixing their attention to it. God has described its excellence in another way which is not far from above, as He says: Most surely the first house appointed for men is the one at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for the nations (). And you have seen a discourse in volume three of this book, under this verse, which illuminates this subject.
Similar is the case of the sacred month, inasmuch as it is a sanctuary for men. God has forbidden fighting in it, and has therein given them safety and security in their lives, honor and properties so that they get a chance to mend what had gone bad in the affairs of their lives. The position of sacred month within all months is like a station where a wayfarer—weary and tired—gets an opportunity to rest and restore himself. In short, the sacred house and the sacred month with the sacrificial animals connected with them are a means of support for the people, encompassing various aspects of their lives here and in the hereafter. If a deep thinking meditator reflects comprehensively on the particulars of the benefits which the people acquire from the Ka’bah and the sacred month—the benefits that are ever flowing or firmly fixed—he will get enormous blessings and will be highly amazed: He will see that because of the sacred house and sacred month, blood relationships are strengthened, friendships are fortified, wealth is gladly spent on needy and poor; markets flourish, mutual love between near relatives blossoms, and strangers recognize each other; hearts come nearer, souls become purified and powers are revitalized; the community gets support from one another, religion is revived, and standards of truth and banners of monotheism are raised high.
It seems this fact is mentioned here after the verses forbidding the game in order to remove any misgiving that these laws were of little or no benefit at all. What is the benefit of forbidding hunting in a certain place or time? What is the advantage of bringing sacrificial animals to a fixed area? And so on. Were not these laws merely vestiges of the superstitious rites of the ignorant and barbaric nations?
This doubt was removed here by saying that the dignity of the sacred house and the sacred month and related rules are based on an academic reality and serious basis, that is, they are the means of support for their lives.
This explanation shows how the verse: “this is that you may know that God knows whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and that God is the Knower of all things,” is connected with the preceding verses. The demonstrative pronoun: “this“ may point to the law described in the preceding verses (the underlying reason of whose legislation is explained in the sentence: “God has made the Ka’bah …”). In this case the meaning will be as follows: Verily God has made the sacred house and the sacred month sanctuaries for the people and has laid down relevant laws, in order that by preserving their sanctity, obeying the laws enacted about them, the people may proceed to the realization that God knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and is fully cognizant of what is beneficial for them; that is why He has laid down for you these laws with full knowledge. There is no superstition involved in these laws that could have emanated from delusive imagination.
Alternatively, that pronoun (this) may be pointing to the explanation of the law which is elaborated in the sentence: “God has made the Ka’bah …” In this case, the meaning will be as follows: We have explained to you this reality (that is, making the sacred house and the sacred month and their related affairs as sanctuaries for the people) in order that you may understand that God fully knows what is in the heavens and in the earth and the related laws which are beneficial to their affairs.
Therefore, you should not think that these laid down laws were useless and ineffectual, or were based on superstition.
اعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ٩٨ مَّا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلاَّ الْبَلاغُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا تَكْتُمُونَ ٩٩
(5:98–99) Know that Allah is severe in requiting (evil) and that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Nothing is (incumbent) on the Messenger but to deliver (the message), and Allah knows what you reveal and what you hide.
It reinforces the preceding declarations and firmly establishes the ground of the above mentioned laws; it threatens disobedient persons and offers (good) promise to obedient ones. The both clauses have a shade of threatening; that is why God has described Himself first as being severe in punishment and then has mentioned His forgiveness and mercy. Also, it is for this reason that the talk has ended with the sentences: “Nothing is (incumbent) on the Messenger ... and what you hide.”
Examining Narrations
- (al-Kulaynī) narrates through his chains from Ḥammād b. Jesus and Ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from Mu’āwiyah b. ʿAmmār, from Abū ʿAbdillāh that he said in explanation of the words of God, the Mighty, the Great: Allah will certainly try you in respect of some game which your hands and your lances can reach. “Wild animals were crowded for the Messenger of God, in the ‘umrah of Ḥudaybiyyah until their hands and their lances could reach them.” (al-Kāfī)
Author’s comment: Also, al-ʿAyyāshī has narrated it as a mursal tradition from Mu’āwiyah b. ʿAmmār; and this theme has been narrated by al-Kulaynī and al-Shaykh (in al-Kāfī and al-Tahdhīb, respectively) through their chains to al-Ḥalabī from al-Ṣādiq. al-ʿAyyāshī has also narrated it from Samā’ah from the same Imam, as a mursal one; and similarly al-Qummī has narrated it as a mursal; this is also narrated from Muqātil b. Ḥayyān as quoted below.
- (al-Suyūṭī says:) Ibn Abī Ḥātim has narrated from Muqātil b. Ḥayyān that he said: “This verse was revealed in the ‘umrah of Ḥudaybiyyah; wild animals, birds and games used to come to them in their stations like of which they had never seen in the past; so God forbade them to kill it while they were in the condition of iḥrām; so that He might know who fears Him in secret.” (al-Durr al-manthūr)
Author’s comment: These two traditions do not go against what we have written in the Commentary that the verse’s meaning is general.
- (al-Kulaynī) narrates through his chains from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, about the words of God, the Blessed, the Sublime: which your hands and your lances can reach; he said, “What the hands can reach are eggs and nestlings, and what the lances can reach refers to what cannot be caught by hands.” (al-Kāfī)
- (al-Ayyāshī) narrates, through his chains in his al-Tafsīr, from Ḥarīz, from Abū ʿAbdillāh that he said, “If a muḥrim (one in the condition of iḥrām) kills a pigeon, then in it (its expiation) is a goat; if he kills a bird chick, then in it is a camel; and if he sets foot on an egg and breaks it, then on him is one dirham, all these (expiations) shall be given in ṣadaqah at Mecca and Minā; and this is (the meaning of) the word of God in His Book: Allah will certainly try you in respect of some game which your hands will reach—eggs and chicks—and your lances—big mothers.”
Author’s comment: al-Shaykh has narrated it in al-Tahdhīb, from Ḥarīz from the same Imam, giving only its last section.
- al-Shaykh narrates through his chains from Ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from Ḥammād, from al-Ḥalabī, from Abū ʿAbdillāh that he said, “When a muḥrim kills a game, then its compensation is (incumbent) on him, and the (killed) game will be given to a poor as ṣadaqah; then if he repeats and kills another game, there is no compensation on him, and God will inflict retribution on him, and (that) retribution (will be) in the next world.” (al-Tahdhīb)
- (al-Shaykh) narrates from al-Kulaynī, from Ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from some of his companions, from Abū ʿAbdillāh, that he said: “If a muḥrim kills a game by mistake, then compensation is incumbent on him;then if he kills it again intentionally, then he is from those on whom God will inflict retribution, and he is not liable to pay expiation.” (ibid.)
- (al-Shaykh) narrates from Ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from Mu’āwiyah b. ʿAmmār, that he said, “I said to Abū ʿAbdillāh, ‘A muḥrim has killed a game?’ He said, ‘He has to give its expiation.’ I said, ‘Then if he repeats?’ He said, ‘He has to give expiation whenever he repeats.’” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: As you see, the traditions differ one from another; and al-Shaykh has reconciled them by saying that they mean: ‘If a muḥrim intentionally kills a game it is incumbent on him to give expiation; and if he intentionally repeats then there is no expiation on him and he is among those on whom God will inflict retribution; and as for him who kills forgetfully, he has to give expiation whenever he repeats.’
- (al-Shaykh) narrates through his chains from Zurārah from Abū Jaʾfar about the words of God, the Mighty, the Great: as two just persons among you shall judge. “So the just is the Messenger of God, and the Imam after him, who shall judge, and he is just. So, when you have known what God has ordered from the Messenger of God and the Imam, then it is sufficient for you and you should not ask (others) about it.” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: There are several traditions of this meaning; one of which says, “I recited near Abū ʿAbdillāh, ‘dhawā ‘adlin minkum’ (two just persons among you); he said, ‘dhū ‘adlin minkum’ (just person among you); it is among the mistakes of the scribes. And it returns to variations of recital, as is apparent.”
- (al-Kulaynī) narrates from al-Zuhrī from ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn, that he said, “Fast in compensation of game is obligatory; God, the Mighty, the Great, has said: and whoever among you shall kill it intentionally, the compensation (of it) is the like of what he killed, from the cattle, as two just persons among you shall judge, as an offering to be brought to the Ka’bah or the expiation (of it) is the feeding of the poor or the equivalent of it in fasting. Well, do you know how will the equivalent of it in fasting be? O Zuhrī!” (Zuhrī) says, “I said, ‘I do not know.’ He said, ‘The (price of) the game will be assessed; then that price will be broken up on wheat (that is, it will be seen how much wheat may be bought with that price); then the wheat will be measured in ṣā’ (equivalent of 3 kg.), and he will fast one day for each half a ṣā’.’” (al-Kāfī)
- (al-Kulaynī) narrates through his chains from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad from one of his men, from Abū ʿAbdillāh that he said, “Whoever is obligated to offer a sacrifice in his iḥrām, he is free to slaughter it wherever he wishes, except the compensation of game, because God says: an offering brought to the Ka’bah.” (ibid.)
- al-ʿAyyāshī narrates from Ḥarīz, from Abū ʿAbdillāh that he said about the words: Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food, a provision for you and for the travelers. “Its salty one, which they eat.” (And he said:) “Distinguish between the two: Every bird that lives in thickets, lays egg in land and brings up its chick on land is a game of land; and whatever bird lives in land, and lays egg in sea and bring up its chick (there) is among the game of the sea.” (al-Tafsīr)
- (al-ʿAyyāshī narrates) from Zayd al-Shaḥḥām that he said, “I asked Abū ʿAbdillāh, about the word of God: Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food, a provision for you and for the travellers; he said, ‘It is salty fish; also whatever you take from it as supply, even if it is not salty, it is provision.’” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: There are numerous traditions of this meaning narrated through Shī’ah chains from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt.
- (al-Suyūṭī) quotes Ibn Abī Shaybah from Mu’āwiyah b. Qurrah and Aḥmad, from a man of the Helpers, “Verily a camel of a man trode a nest of an ostrich and broke its eggs. So the Messenger of God said, ‘(Incumbent) on you is fast of one day in lieu of every egg, or feeding of poor.’” (al-Durr al-manthūr)
Author’s comment: He has also narrated this theme from Ibn Abī Shaybah, from ʿAbdullāh b. Dhakwān, from the Prophet; and has also narrated it from Abu al-Zinād, from ‘Āishah from the Prophet.
- Abu al-Shaykh and Ibn Marduwayh have narrated through the chain of Abu al-Muhzim, from the Prophet that he said, “In the eggs of ostrich it is (incumbent to pay) its price.” (ibid.)
- Also, he quotes Ḥātim from Abū Jaʾfar Muḥammad b. ʿAlī: A man asked ʿAlī about sacrificial animal, from what it is (that is, from which species it should be). He said, “From the eight pairs.” Then it seemed as if the man had some doubts; so ʿAlī said, “Do you read Qur’an?” It seemed as if the man said, “Yes.” (ʿAlī) said, “Then have you heard God saying: O you who believe! Fulfil the covenants. The cattle quadrupeds are made lawful for you … ().” He said, “Yes.” (ʿAlī) said, “Have you heard Him saying: … and mention the name of Allah during stated days over what He has given them of the cattle quadrupeds … (); And of the cattle (He created) beasts of burden and those which are fit for slaughter only; … ()?” He said, “Yes.” (ʿAlī) said, “And have you heard Him saying: … two of sheep and two of goats … ()? And two of camels and two of cows … ()?” He said, “Yes.” (ʿAlī) said, “And have you heard Him saying: O you who believe! Do not kill game while you are in the pilgrim garb … as an offering to be brought to the Ka’bah?” The man said, “Yes.” Then (ʿAlī) said, “If I killed a deer, then what is (incumbent) on me?” He said, “A goat.” ʿAlī said, “An offering to be brought to the Ka’bah?” The man said, “Yes.” Then ʿAlī said, “God has named it: to be brought to the Ka’bah, as you hear.” (ibid.)
- Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrates from ‘Aṭā’ al-Khurāsānī that ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭab, ʿUthmān b. ‘Affān, ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib, Ibn ʿAbbās, Zayd b. Thābit and Mu’āwiyah had judged that if a muḥrim kills a game for which an offering is given in compensation, the price of that offering should be assessed and poor persons fed from it. (ibid).
- Ibn Jarīr has narrated from Abū Hurayrah that he said, “The Messenger of God, said, ‘Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food, a provision for you.’ He said, ‘Whatever dead animals it throws (on the shore), it is its food.’” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: Similar themes have been narrated from some companions too; but what is narrated from the chains of Ahl al-Bayt contradicts it, as described earlier.
- (al-ʿAyyāshī) narrates from Abān b. Taghlib that he said, “I said to Abū ʿAbdillāh, ‘What is the meaning of: God has made the Ka’bah, the Sacred House, a sanctuary for the people?’ He said, ‘Livelihood.’” (al-Tafsīr)
Author’s comment: The explanation of this tradition has been given earlier.