What is the ruling on placing taxidermied birds in homes as decoration, since they are from the creation of Allah the Exalted?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on placing taxidermied birds in homes as decoration, since they are from the creation of Allah? Please give us a ruling, and may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Taxidermied birds are either lawful birds or forbidden birds. If they are forbidden birds, their carcass is ritually impure. Everything whose consumption is forbidden has a ritually impure carcass, except for what does not have flowing blood, such as insects and their like, for they are not ritually impure, but rather pure whether alive or dead. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 3320 - What? - Bulugh al-Maram 14. And it is known that if it is dipped in water or fire, it will die. If its carcass were ritually impure, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have informed us that if it died, the vessel or the drink would become ritually impure.
In any case, these taxidermied birds, if they are forbidden, are ritually impure. And if they are ritually impure, the person who touches them and whose hand becomes contaminated by them, his hand must be ritually impure and require washing, and one must be very careful to avoid them.
As for if they are from the lawful birds, if they were ritually slaughtered and then taxidermied, there is no harm in that, for they become pure after being ritually slaughtered. But if they were killed by stealth without ritual slaughter, they are ritually impure, for the carcass is ritually impure even if it is from a lawful animal, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:145] The pronoun in His saying: does not refer to the flesh of the pig, as some scholars have said, but rather it refers to everything that came before it. That is, this food item, which is from one of the three categories—carcass, or flowing blood, or the flesh of the pig—is an impurity. Therefore, we use this verse as evidence that the carcass is ritually impure, and that flowing blood is ritually impure, and that the flesh of the pig is also ritually impure.
But what do you say about the flesh of the pig? Is it the flesh that is flesh, or does it include all its body parts?
The student: All its parts.
The Shaykh : The liver of the pig?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The liver of the pig?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Is the liver of the pig forbidden?
The student: Forbidden.
The Shaykh : Forbidden and ritually impure?
The student: Ritually impure.
The Shaykh : Ritually impure, okay. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So, if we eat from the liver of camels, do we perform ablution?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : So there are two opinions, and the opinion of the majority is that we perform ablution. Your majority, I mean. Okay, the correct opinion is that we perform ablution. The correct opinion is that we perform ablution from everything that the camel carries. We perform ablution from the liver, from the heart, from the lungs, from the intestines, and from everything.
The student: From the head.
The Shaykh : And from the head, and from the neck, and from everything, for it is general: "Perform ablution from the flesh of camels." This is general and includes everything that is flesh. Just as Allah has forbidden us the flesh of the pig, which includes all its parts, so when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made ablution obligatory from the flesh of camels, it became inclusive of all parts of the camel.
The student: As an obligation.
The Shaykh : As an obligation. And the evidence for that, the evidence for that is:Bulugh al-Maram 75. This indicates that ablution from the flesh of camels is obligatory. The evidence is that he said regarding the flesh of sheep: - What? - : . So the flesh of camels is not a matter of choice, and what is not a matter of choice, I am compelled to do it. It is obligatory to perform ablution from it, whether it is cooked or raw.
And what remains for us is ablution from milk and ablution from broth. Is it obligatory or not?
Some scholars have held that ablution from it is obligatory, and that a person must perform ablution from the milk of camels, and likewise from its broth. The apparent view is that ablution is not obligatory. If one performs ablution, it is better; otherwise, it is not. And the evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered the 'Uraynah who came to Medina and were about to stay there, he ordered them to go out to the camels of zakah and drink from their urine and milk, and he did not order them to perform ablution from that. If ablution had been obligatory, he would have clarified it, for the need calls for its clarification. This is the correct opinion in this issue: that ablution from milk and ablution from broth is recommended, but not obligatory.
And who can tell me about the end of these people whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered to go out to the camels of zakah and drink from their urine and milk?
The student: They killed the shepherd...
The Shaykh : They killed the shepherd only?
The student: And they took, they drove away the camels of zakah.
The Shaykh : They drove away the camels. Okay, these people, my brothers, instead of this favor that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did for them, they did the greatest evil. They killed the shepherd of the camels and gouged out his eyes. They gouged them out, meaning they applied kohl to them with a nail heated by fire. They heated the nails and applied them to the eyes of the shepherd, and they drove away the camels. So the news came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and he sent [men] after them, and they brought them back. He ordered—listen—that their hands and feet be cut off crosswise, meaning the right hand and the left foot be cut off, and their eyes be gouged out, meaning applied with heated nails, and they were left in the lava field in Medina asking for water, saying, "O people, give us water," but they were not given water until they died. Is this punishment deserved or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, by Allah, they deserve it, because it is the ruling of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he does not rule except with truth. And because they committed a great crime. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that their hands and feet be cut off crosswise, and that their eyes be gouged out, and they were left in the lava field asking for water, but they were not given water until they died. Yes.
The questioner : The sale of taxidermied items, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : As for the sale of taxidermied items, did it come in the question? Did it come in the question or not? I did not hear it.
In any case, the sale of taxidermied items, if it is taxidermied from a forbidden animal, its sale is forbidden, because when Allah forbids something, He forbids its price, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said. And if it is taxidermied from a lawful animal that was ritually slaughtered and taxidermied after its ritual slaughter, then here we look: if the price is small and its expenditure in this is not considered extravagance, we hope that there is no harm in it. But if the price is exorbitant and spending it on such things is extravagance, then it is not permissible, because it is a waste of wealth.
And as for if the taxidermied item is from a lawful animal taxidermied without lawful ritual slaughter, its sale is forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale of intoxicants and carcasses, so it is forbidden. Yes.
The questioner : There have been many questions about the sutrah and its rulings. From the questions that came regarding it:
The Shaykh : Taxidermied birds are either lawful birds or forbidden birds. If they are forbidden birds, their carcass is ritually impure. Everything whose consumption is forbidden has a ritually impure carcass, except for what does not have flowing blood, such as insects and their like, for they are not ritually impure, but rather pure whether alive or dead. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If a house fly falls in the drink of anyone of you
إذا وقع الذباب في شراب أحدكمhe should fully dip it and then throw it away because there is disease in one of its wings and cure in the other
فليغمسه ثم لينزعه فإن في أحد جناحيه داء وفي الآخر دواءIn any case, these taxidermied birds, if they are forbidden, are ritually impure. And if they are ritually impure, the person who touches them and whose hand becomes contaminated by them, his hand must be ritually impure and require washing, and one must be very careful to avoid them.
As for if they are from the lawful birds, if they were ritually slaughtered and then taxidermied, there is no harm in that, for they become pure after being ritually slaughtered. But if they were killed by stealth without ritual slaughter, they are ritually impure, for the carcass is ritually impure even if it is from a lawful animal, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Say, "I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine - for indeed, it is impure
قل لا أجد في ما أوحي إلي محرماً على طاعم يطعمه إلا أن يكون ميتة أو دماً مسفوحاً أو لحم خنزير فإنه رجسfor it is
فإنهBut what do you say about the flesh of the pig? Is it the flesh that is flesh, or does it include all its body parts?
The student: All its parts.
The Shaykh : The liver of the pig?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The liver of the pig?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Is the liver of the pig forbidden?
The student: Forbidden.
The Shaykh : Forbidden and ritually impure?
The student: Ritually impure.
The Shaykh : Ritually impure, okay. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Perform wudu' from camel meat
توضؤوا من لحوم الإبلThe student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : No?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : So there are two opinions, and the opinion of the majority is that we perform ablution. Your majority, I mean. Okay, the correct opinion is that we perform ablution. The correct opinion is that we perform ablution from everything that the camel carries. We perform ablution from the liver, from the heart, from the lungs, from the intestines, and from everything.
The student: From the head.
The Shaykh : And from the head, and from the neck, and from everything, for it is general: "Perform ablution from the flesh of camels." This is general and includes everything that is flesh. Just as Allah has forbidden us the flesh of the pig, which includes all its parts, so when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made ablution obligatory from the flesh of camels, it became inclusive of all parts of the camel.
The student: As an obligation.
The Shaykh : As an obligation. And the evidence for that, the evidence for that is:
A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ), “Should I perform ablution after eating mutton?” He replied, “If you wish so”, he then asked, “Should I perform ablution after eating camel meat?” He (ﷺ) said: “Yes”.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: سئل: أنتوضأ من لحوم الغنم؟ قال : إن شئت، وقال: أتوضأ من لحوم الإبل؟ قال: نعمIf you wish
إن شئتAnd what remains for us is ablution from milk and ablution from broth. Is it obligatory or not?
Some scholars have held that ablution from it is obligatory, and that a person must perform ablution from the milk of camels, and likewise from its broth. The apparent view is that ablution is not obligatory. If one performs ablution, it is better; otherwise, it is not. And the evidence for this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered the 'Uraynah who came to Medina and were about to stay there, he ordered them to go out to the camels of zakah and drink from their urine and milk, and he did not order them to perform ablution from that. If ablution had been obligatory, he would have clarified it, for the need calls for its clarification. This is the correct opinion in this issue: that ablution from milk and ablution from broth is recommended, but not obligatory.
And who can tell me about the end of these people whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered to go out to the camels of zakah and drink from their urine and milk?
The student: They killed the shepherd...
The Shaykh : They killed the shepherd only?
The student: And they took, they drove away the camels of zakah.
The Shaykh : They drove away the camels. Okay, these people, my brothers, instead of this favor that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did for them, they did the greatest evil. They killed the shepherd of the camels and gouged out his eyes. They gouged them out, meaning they applied kohl to them with a nail heated by fire. They heated the nails and applied them to the eyes of the shepherd, and they drove away the camels. So the news came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and he sent [men] after them, and they brought them back. He ordered—listen—that their hands and feet be cut off crosswise, meaning the right hand and the left foot be cut off, and their eyes be gouged out, meaning applied with heated nails, and they were left in the lava field in Medina asking for water, saying, "O people, give us water," but they were not given water until they died. Is this punishment deserved or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, by Allah, they deserve it, because it is the ruling of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he does not rule except with truth. And because they committed a great crime. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered that their hands and feet be cut off crosswise, and that their eyes be gouged out, and they were left in the lava field asking for water, but they were not given water until they died. Yes.
The questioner : The sale of taxidermied items, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : As for the sale of taxidermied items, did it come in the question? Did it come in the question or not? I did not hear it.
In any case, the sale of taxidermied items, if it is taxidermied from a forbidden animal, its sale is forbidden, because when Allah forbids something, He forbids its price, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said. And if it is taxidermied from a lawful animal that was ritually slaughtered and taxidermied after its ritual slaughter, then here we look: if the price is small and its expenditure in this is not considered extravagance, we hope that there is no harm in it. But if the price is exorbitant and spending it on such things is extravagance, then it is not permissible, because it is a waste of wealth.
And as for if the taxidermied item is from a lawful animal taxidermied without lawful ritual slaughter, its sale is forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the sale of intoxicants and carcasses, so it is forbidden. Yes.
The questioner : There have been many questions about the sutrah and its rulings. From the questions that came regarding it: