What is the ruling on embalming animals for the purpose of learning or keeping them for decoration, and what is the ruling on killing animals by means of anesthesia or depriving them of air?
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The questioner : I say that I am a university student, and one day we had a lesson on embalming animals. So we would conduct experiments on some animals, such as rabbits, wolves, pigeons, and the like. We would bring them alive and then kill them. Here is the second problem: we kill them by one of the following means, either by confining them in a place devoid of air until they die, or by killing them with an anesthetic or similar means, other than the lawful slaughter. We are unable to refuse this work, as it is a course subject that determines whether we pass or fail. So what is the legal ruling, first, on embalming for the purpose of learning or for keeping the embalmed animals for decoration? And second, what is the ruling on killing animals by the aforementioned means?
The Shaykh : Embalming an animal for the sake of learning and acquiring knowledge that benefits the people is permissible. This is because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, created for us everything on the earth, as He, the Exalted, said:[Al-Baqarah 2:29] However, it is obligatory to adopt the easiest means to achieve this purpose in killing this embalmed animal, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1409Sahih (Darussalam) If it is anesthetized with an anesthetic in order to perform the procedure on it while it is alive, then this is also permissible, because this is in the interest of the learners and does not cause significant harm to this animal, as it does not feel pain during dissection when anesthetized. So there is no harm in that. As for confining it in a place where air does not reach it, I have some reservations about this, because this is severe torture for it. I do not know whether the need for this procedure is urgent or not. As for embalming these animals for decoration, I do not consider it permissible, because they were created to be benefited from by eating them. As for decoration, it involves some extravagance and wasting money without benefit. So I do not think they should be embalmed for this purpose, because spending money on them is a waste of it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. This listener is Ahmad Sumarto Shams al-'Uyun, an Indonesian resident of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.
The Shaykh : Embalming an animal for the sake of learning and acquiring knowledge that benefits the people is permissible. This is because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, created for us everything on the earth, as He, the Exalted, said:
It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth
هو الذي خلق لكم ما في الأرض جميعاSo when you kill, then do the killing well, and when you slaughter, then do the slaughtering well.
إذا قتلتم فأحسنوا القتلة وإذا ذبحتم فأحسنوا الذبحةThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good. This listener is Ahmad Sumarto Shams al-'Uyun, an Indonesian resident of al-Madinah al-Munawwarah.