Is it permissible to hunt locusts in Makkah, and what is its expiation? And what is the ruling for one who did so out of ignorance?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : I will hunt the locusts and prove it to you. Welcome.
The Shaykh : In Makkah itself, no, it is not permissible. It is permissible to hunt them outside and then eat them in Makkah, cooking them there. I think last year, or the year before, locusts became numerous in Ramadan. Last year, locusts became numerous in Ramadan, and people started taking quantities. The ones that are trampled unintentionally do no harm, but some people started taking bags, as you heard, and cooked and ate them. So it is forbidden for them on one hand, and they must pay an expiation. But what is the expiation? After the adhan, if Allah wills, I will say what the expiation for this locust is. It is said that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), was told: "O Commander of the Faithful, every locust is worth a date." He said: "A date is better than a locust." And this is true that a date is better than a locust, except in our current time. If you come to a boy and say to him, "I will give you this locust and give me ten dates," will he give them to you or not, Professor?
The presenter : He will give them to you, he will give them to you.
The Shaykh : He plays with it and looks at it, but in any case, the locust has no equivalent among livestock, so its value is determined by its place. It is distributed to the poor of the Haram. Who? Yes, correct? First, it is clarified to them that this is not permissible. Then, if they are ignorant, what is the known principle with us?
That a person excused by ignorance owes nothing, because He said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:95] So if the one in ihram kills game while ignorant, thinking that it is not forbidden, then he owes nothing. And if he eats it, for example, after killing it while thinking that it is not forbidden, then he owes nothing. All forbidden things, with ignorance, carry no penalty. This is the principle. [Al-Baqarah 2:286] Allah the Exalted said: "I have done it."
The Shaykh : In Makkah itself, no, it is not permissible. It is permissible to hunt them outside and then eat them in Makkah, cooking them there. I think last year, or the year before, locusts became numerous in Ramadan. Last year, locusts became numerous in Ramadan, and people started taking quantities. The ones that are trampled unintentionally do no harm, but some people started taking bags, as you heard, and cooked and ate them. So it is forbidden for them on one hand, and they must pay an expiation. But what is the expiation? After the adhan, if Allah wills, I will say what the expiation for this locust is. It is said that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), was told: "O Commander of the Faithful, every locust is worth a date." He said: "A date is better than a locust." And this is true that a date is better than a locust, except in our current time. If you come to a boy and say to him, "I will give you this locust and give me ten dates," will he give them to you or not, Professor?
The presenter : He will give them to you, he will give them to you.
The Shaykh : He plays with it and looks at it, but in any case, the locust has no equivalent among livestock, so its value is determined by its place. It is distributed to the poor of the Haram. Who? Yes, correct? First, it is clarified to them that this is not permissible. Then, if they are ignorant, what is the known principle with us?
That a person excused by ignorance owes nothing, because He said:
And whoever of you kills it intentionally
وَمَن قَتَلَهُ مِنكُم مُّتَعَمِّدًاOur Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred.
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 210 - 4600 هل يجوز صيد الجراد في مكة وما فديته ومن فعل ذلك جاهلاً ما حكمه؟ ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.