Benefits of the Hadith: "What is cut from a beast while it is alive is carrion."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : So, among the benefits of the hadith is that it is obligatory for a scholar, if the situation requires it, to mention the legal ruling so that people do not fall into violating it. It is obligatory for him to clarify this, because the Messenger clarified this when he saw people cutting off the humps and tails.
And among the benefits of this hadith is that what is cut from a beast while it is alive is like the carrion of the beast, based on his saying: Here we ask: Is it permissible to cut something from a beast or not? We say that if it is done for no reason, merely to cause pain or for revenge, then this is forbidden and not permissible. An example is a man who has a goat that wanders over him at night and disturbs his sleep, so he goes down to it and cuts out its tongue. Is this forbidden or lawful?
The student: Forbidden.
The Shaykh : Why?
The student: Revenge.
The Shaykh : Because this is revenge, and it is a beast that does not speak, so this is not permissible. Likewise, if it is done for no reason, it is not permissible. But if it is for the benefit of the beast or for the benefit of the owner of the beast, is that permissible or not? The apparent ruling is that it is permissible, but one must follow the method closest to avoiding pain. An example of this is castration for the benefit of the beast and for the benefit of the owner as well, because when a male animal is castrated, its meat becomes more delicious. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificed two castrated rams, meaning castrated males. This is for the benefit of the beast, and consequently for the benefit of what? For the benefit of the owner. As for what is for the benefit of the owner, it is cutting off the ears, because in recent times people have come to prefer goats when their ears are cut off, and they say that their price increases by double or more. So whose benefit is this?
The student: The owner.
The Shaykh : For the benefit of the owner, but one must use the method closest to avoiding... what does he do? He numbs it, he numbs it so that it does not feel pain. If someone asks: What is your evidence that it is permissible to cause pain to a beast for its benefit? We say that branding: the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to brand the camels of zakah, and branding is burning with fire and is painful for the animal, but that is for the benefit of the owner because branding is a mark. This indicates that it is permissible.
If someone asks: Cutting off the ears resembles the action of the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance who would castrate the "bahair" and let loose the "saw'ib." The answer is that it may resemble it in appearance, but what was the motive of the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance to do this?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The motive was the mark that this is forbidden, meaning they had rules. For example, if a sheep or a camel reached a certain age, it was forbidden to ride it or milk it, and it was obligatory to let it loose, and then they would cut off part of its ears to be a mark of that. But these people who cut off ears do not want to make it forbidden, but they want to increase the price and benefit from the rise in value. So, we have spoken about this topic even though the hadith did not address it, but there is no harm because this is important.
Among the benefits of this hadith is the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) eagerness to convey the message and guide creation, because he (peace and blessings be upon him) hastened with this as soon as he learned of it. Some scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) excluded two things: The first thing—O Ayub, glory be to Allah!—the first thing is musk and its source, and the second thing is the hunted animal. They said this is permissible: musk and its source. There is a gazelle called the musk gazelle, which is well known, and musk is extracted from its blood. In this, al-Mutanabbi says about his eulogized one:
"If you are the best of mankind, and you are among them, *** Then musk is part of the gazelle's blood".
Some scholars excluded this, and they said that Muslims still perfume themselves with musk, which is extracted from the gazelle's blood.
And the second issue is the hunted animal, and we will mention it, if Allah wills, after the call to prayer.
O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and the established prayer, grant Muhammad the intercession and the virtue, and raise him to the praiseworthy station which You have promised him.
The hunted animal was mentioned by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and that the Companions did it. It is that a group of people chase a gazelle, then they all catch it, and then they cut it up. This man cuts this part, and this one cuts the neck, and this one cuts the leg, and it dies a single death. Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) did not cite a hadith as evidence, but he cited the action of the Companions as evidence. However, this is also not unlikely to be applied to the hadith, because this is hunting, and hunting becomes lawful by wounding it in any part of its body. So they wounded it all together, and then this wound became like a hunted animal shot with an arrow. The scholars did not exclude from what is made pure from the living animal, except these two issues.
And among the benefits of this hadith is that what is cut from a beast while it is alive is like the carrion of the beast, based on his saying:
It is carrion
فهو ميّتThe student: Forbidden.
The Shaykh : Why?
The student: Revenge.
The Shaykh : Because this is revenge, and it is a beast that does not speak, so this is not permissible. Likewise, if it is done for no reason, it is not permissible. But if it is for the benefit of the beast or for the benefit of the owner of the beast, is that permissible or not? The apparent ruling is that it is permissible, but one must follow the method closest to avoiding pain. An example of this is castration for the benefit of the beast and for the benefit of the owner as well, because when a male animal is castrated, its meat becomes more delicious. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificed two castrated rams, meaning castrated males. This is for the benefit of the beast, and consequently for the benefit of what? For the benefit of the owner. As for what is for the benefit of the owner, it is cutting off the ears, because in recent times people have come to prefer goats when their ears are cut off, and they say that their price increases by double or more. So whose benefit is this?
The student: The owner.
The Shaykh : For the benefit of the owner, but one must use the method closest to avoiding... what does he do? He numbs it, he numbs it so that it does not feel pain. If someone asks: What is your evidence that it is permissible to cause pain to a beast for its benefit? We say that branding: the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to brand the camels of zakah, and branding is burning with fire and is painful for the animal, but that is for the benefit of the owner because branding is a mark. This indicates that it is permissible.
If someone asks: Cutting off the ears resembles the action of the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance who would castrate the "bahair" and let loose the "saw'ib." The answer is that it may resemble it in appearance, but what was the motive of the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance to do this?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : The motive was the mark that this is forbidden, meaning they had rules. For example, if a sheep or a camel reached a certain age, it was forbidden to ride it or milk it, and it was obligatory to let it loose, and then they would cut off part of its ears to be a mark of that. But these people who cut off ears do not want to make it forbidden, but they want to increase the price and benefit from the rise in value. So, we have spoken about this topic even though the hadith did not address it, but there is no harm because this is important.
Among the benefits of this hadith is the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) eagerness to convey the message and guide creation, because he (peace and blessings be upon him) hastened with this as soon as he learned of it. Some scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) excluded two things: The first thing—O Ayub, glory be to Allah!—the first thing is musk and its source, and the second thing is the hunted animal. They said this is permissible: musk and its source. There is a gazelle called the musk gazelle, which is well known, and musk is extracted from its blood. In this, al-Mutanabbi says about his eulogized one:
"If you are the best of mankind, and you are among them, *** Then musk is part of the gazelle's blood".
Some scholars excluded this, and they said that Muslims still perfume themselves with musk, which is extracted from the gazelle's blood.
And the second issue is the hunted animal, and we will mention it, if Allah wills, after the call to prayer.
O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and the established prayer, grant Muhammad the intercession and the virtue, and raise him to the praiseworthy station which You have promised him.
The hunted animal was mentioned by Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), and that the Companions did it. It is that a group of people chase a gazelle, then they all catch it, and then they cut it up. This man cuts this part, and this one cuts the neck, and this one cuts the leg, and it dies a single death. Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) did not cite a hadith as evidence, but he cited the action of the Companions as evidence. However, this is also not unlikely to be applied to the hadith, because this is hunting, and hunting becomes lawful by wounding it in any part of its body. So they wounded it all together, and then this wound became like a hunted animal shot with an arrow. The scholars did not exclude from what is made pure from the living animal, except these two issues.