A woman says: I am the mother of several children, some of whom are married and some are still single. They perform their obligatory duties and acts of worship, but they are preoccupied
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The questioner : We begin this episode with a message received from the listener Umm 'Abdullah from Baghdad, Iraq. In this question, she says: I am the mother of several children, some of whom are married and others are still single. They perform their obligatory duties and acts of worship, but O honorable Shaykh, they are preoccupied with raising birds and spending time and money on their care, as well as watching them fly in the air. This hobby has become a necessity in their lives, and they cannot do without it. What is the ruling of the Shari'ah in your view regarding this?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Our answer to this is to say that it is incumbent upon the sensible person not to spend his precious time on such amusement that benefits them nothing and from which they derive no benefit in their religious or worldly affairs. For life is more precious than money and more precious than everything, as Allah Mighty and Majestic said:[Al-Mu'minun 23:99-100] And in the hadith: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2403Da'if (Darussalam)
Wasting life in this amusement is a great loss. So my advice to these boys, may Allah bless them and guide them, is to refrain from this amusement and not to make it the greatest of their concerns, the limit of their knowledge, or the majority of their affairs. There is no blame on them if they keep such birds for the purpose of trading, buying, and selling, because buying and selling in what Allah has made lawful is among the matters He has permitted, as He said:[Al-Baqarah 2:275] As for keeping them to waste their time watching them fly and return, I advise them and warn them against wasting their time in such matters. As for definitively declaring it forbidden, I do not definitively declare it forbidden, but I see it as a waste of time and a loss of life.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Our answer to this is to say that it is incumbent upon the sensible person not to spend his precious time on such amusement that benefits them nothing and from which they derive no benefit in their religious or worldly affairs. For life is more precious than money and more precious than everything, as Allah Mighty and Majestic said:
until, when death comes to one of them, he says, "My Lord, send me back (100) That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind."
حَتّى إِذا جاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ المَوتُ قالَ رَبِّ ارجِعونِ * لَعَلّي أَعمَلُ صالِحًا فيما تَرَكتُAbu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet(s.a.w) said: "There is no one who dies but he shall regret." They said: "What shall he regret over O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "If he was a good doer, he regrets that he did not do more, and if he was an evil doer, he regrets that he did not stop."
ما من ميت يموت إلا ندم إن كان محسنا ندم أن لا يكون ازداد وإن كان مسيئا ندم أن لا يكون استعتبWasting life in this amusement is a great loss. So my advice to these boys, may Allah bless them and guide them, is to refrain from this amusement and not to make it the greatest of their concerns, the limit of their knowledge, or the majority of their affairs. There is no blame on them if they keep such birds for the purpose of trading, buying, and selling, because buying and selling in what Allah has made lawful is among the matters He has permitted, as He said:
But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest
وأحل الله البيع وحرم الرباThe questioner : May Allah bless you.