What is the ruling on eating locusts in the Haram, whether alive or dead, and is there a difference between eating them dead or alive?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. In your view, what is the ruling in the Shari'ah regarding one who eats live and dead locusts around the Haram? And does the ruling on eating dead locusts differ from the ruling on eating live ones?
The Shaykh : Yes, locusts are considered game, are they not? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding Makkah: So if you find a locust that has fallen to the ground, do not drive it away; that is, do not wave your garment at it to make it fly away; let it stay. However, if it flies away because you passed by, there is no blame on you, for a person must pass by, but if he intends to drive it from its place, that is driving away game. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding Makkah: . And if driving away its game is prohibited, then killing it is all the more so. It is not permissible for anyone to hunt locusts in the Haram, around it, or within the boundaries of the Haram; it is not permissible to hunt any of them. If he hunts any of them and eats it, it is forbidden, and he owes the expiation. What is the value of each locust? A sheep? No, it is not a sheep for each locust, and there is no equivalent for locusts; it is guaranteed by its value.
What is the value of a locust? Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, actually, what is its value? 10 riyals?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : 10 riyals, meaning, what is the value of a locust?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, it is not sold. No doubt it is sold, so he owes its value. He owes the expiation, which is the value of this locust. Where does he put it? He gives it in charity to the poor of the Haram, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:95]. If he was ignorant, a person who thinks that locusts in Makkah are like locusts in Madinah, for example, or in a place other than Madinah, like locusts in Riyadh, an ignorant person who thinks there is no harm in it. I was asked about this yesterday; a man asked, saying that one of his relatives hunted ten locusts, cooked them, and ate them. Is this forbidden?
I say: If he did not know, it is lawful, meaning he does not sin by doing so, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:95]. And so it is with all the prohibitions of ihram; if a person does them while ignorant or forgetful, there is nothing on him, even if he has intercourse with his wife while ignorant, there is nothing on him, no sin and no expiation, due to the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah 2:286]. So Allah said: . Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. The questioner says:
The Shaykh :- continuing - : What remains for us here is: he says, "the live and the dead." The dead one has died; it has no sanctity, even though dead locusts are lawful to eat, but it has no sanctity. The analogy is that trees in the Haram; is it permissible to cut them or not? Is it permissible to cut their branches? But if you see a branch that has broken and fallen, is it permissible to benefit from it or not? It is permissible. So if this locust dies by itself, it is permissible for him to eat it because it has no sanctity now. But if it dies by the action of a person, it is not eaten.
The Shaykh : Yes, locusts are considered game, are they not? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding Makkah:
Do not drive away its game
لا ينفر صيدهاIts game is not to be driven away
إنها لا ينفر صيدهاWhat is the value of a locust? Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, actually, what is its value? 10 riyals?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : 10 riyals, meaning, what is the value of a locust?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, it is not sold. No doubt it is sold, so he owes its value. He owes the expiation, which is the value of this locust. Where does he put it? He gives it in charity to the poor of the Haram, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
as an offering [to Allah] delivered to the Ka'bah
هديا بالغ الكعبةI say: If he did not know, it is lawful, meaning he does not sin by doing so, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And whoever of you kills it intentionally - the penalty is an equivalent from sacrificial animals to what he killed
ومن قتله منكم متعمدا فجزاء مثل ما قتل من النعمOur Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred.
ربنا لا تؤاخذنا إن نسينا أو أخطأناHe has done so
قد فعلتThe questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. The questioner says:
The Shaykh :- continuing - : What remains for us here is: he says, "the live and the dead." The dead one has died; it has no sanctity, even though dead locusts are lawful to eat, but it has no sanctity. The analogy is that trees in the Haram; is it permissible to cut them or not? Is it permissible to cut their branches? But if you see a branch that has broken and fallen, is it permissible to benefit from it or not? It is permissible. So if this locust dies by itself, it is permissible for him to eat it because it has no sanctity now. But if it dies by the action of a person, it is not eaten.