What are the sacred months? And what is the ruling on killing game in them?
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Question:
What are the sacred months? And what is the ruling on one who kills game in them? And what is obligatory upon him if he kills?
Answer:
Game is only forbidden to a person if he is in a state of ihram, not because it is in a sacred month. Rather, game is forbidden to the one in ihram, and it is forbidden in the land of the Haram, the Haram of Makkah and al-Madinah.
As for the sacred months, they are: Rajab, Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram. These are the sacred months: three consecutive ones—Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram. This is the month we are in, the month of Allah, Muharram. And the fourth is isolated between Jumada and Sha'ban, and it is Rajab.
The Arabs used to avoid fighting in them, and they feared fighting in them, and they would travel from land to land in them. And Allah made clear their greatness by His saying, (Exalted and Majestic is He): [At-Tawbah: 36], meaning: by sins, evils, and obeying Satan. It is not about game, but about sins and transgressions.
As for game, it is lawful in Rajab, in Dhu al-Qa'dah, or in Dhu al-Hijjah, or in Muharram. Game is lawful if you are not in a state of ihram, and not in the land of the Haram. But do not wrong yourselves in them by the fighting that Allah has forbidden, or by the sins that Allah has forbidden.
And the scholars have differed: are they still in effect, or have they been abrogated? There are two opinions:
The majority are of the opinion that they have been abrogated, and that fighting in them is permissible, and that the Muslims have the right to fight their enemy in the sacred months.
And some of the people of knowledge held that fighting in them remains and has not been abrogated, as He the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah: 217].
And Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned this in this context and in this discussion, and he lengthened it and defended it, stating that they remain and have not been abrogated. As for His saying, the Exalted: [At-Tawbah: 5], he said: It is said regarding this verse that the intended meaning of "the sacred [months]" is the four months that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted to those who had no treaty with him; he gave them a respite of four months, and if they passed and they did not submit to Islam, they were to be fought. And the intended meaning is not the four well-known ones, which are: Rajab, Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram.
What are the sacred months? And what is the ruling on one who kills game in them? And what is obligatory upon him if he kills?
Answer:
Game is only forbidden to a person if he is in a state of ihram, not because it is in a sacred month. Rather, game is forbidden to the one in ihram, and it is forbidden in the land of the Haram, the Haram of Makkah and al-Madinah.
As for the sacred months, they are: Rajab, Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram. These are the sacred months: three consecutive ones—Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram. This is the month we are in, the month of Allah, Muharram. And the fourth is isolated between Jumada and Sha'ban, and it is Rajab.
The Arabs used to avoid fighting in them, and they feared fighting in them, and they would travel from land to land in them. And Allah made clear their greatness by His saying, (Exalted and Majestic is He):
Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them.
إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ مِنْهَا أَرْبَعَةٌ حُرُمٌ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ فَلَا تَظْلِمُوا فِيهِنَّ أَنْفُسَكُمْAs for game, it is lawful in Rajab, in Dhu al-Qa'dah, or in Dhu al-Hijjah, or in Muharram. Game is lawful if you are not in a state of ihram, and not in the land of the Haram. But do not wrong yourselves in them by the fighting that Allah has forbidden, or by the sins that Allah has forbidden.
And the scholars have differed: are they still in effect, or have they been abrogated? There are two opinions:
The majority are of the opinion that they have been abrogated, and that fighting in them is permissible, and that the Muslims have the right to fight their enemy in the sacred months.
And some of the people of knowledge held that fighting in them remains and has not been abrogated, as He the Exalted said:
They ask you about the sacred month - about fighting therein. Say, "Fighting therein is great
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ قِتَالٍ فِيهِ قُلْ قِتَالٌ فِيهِ كَبِيرٌAnd Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned this in this context and in this discussion, and he lengthened it and defended it, stating that they remain and have not been abrogated. As for His saying, the Exalted:
And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists
فَإِذَا انْسَلَخَ الْأَشْهُرُ الْحُرُمُ فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.