Selections from Muḥammadan Traditions/Chapter 19
XIX
THE BOOK OF HUNTING AND KILLING
It is related from Abú Thaʿlabahuʾl-Khushámi that he said, 'I said, "O Prophet of God, verily we are in a land belonging to a nation, the People of the Book; may we eat from their vessels? And we are in a land of game; and I hunt with bows and with dogs which have not been trained, as well as with those that have. Then what is the right course of conduct for me?" He replied, "As to what thou didst mention of the vessels of the People of the Book; if thou find any others, then do not eat from them; but if thou do not find others, then wash them and eat from them. And what thou huntest with thy bow, and hast mentioned the name of God over, eat. And what thou hast hunted with thy trained dog and hast repeated the name of God over, eat. And what thou hast hunted with thy untrained dog, and hast found it undefiled, eat."'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí.
It is related from Abú Ṭufail that he said, 'ʿAlí was asked, "Has the Apostle of God distinguished thee by anything?" He replied, "He did not distinguish us by anything which he did not make universal for all men, except what is in the scabbard of this sword of mine." Then he brought out a paper on which was written, "God has cursed the one who kills without (repeating the name of) God; and God has cursed the one who steals a land mark." And in another tradition it runs, "Whoever changes a land mark." And, "God has cursed whoever curses his father; and God has cursed whoever gives shelter to an innovator."'—Muslim.
It is related from ʿAdí bin Ḥátim that he said, 'I said, "O Apostle of God, inform us, if one of us takes game, and he has no knife with him, may he kill it with a lump of stone or a piece of stick?" He replied, "Cause the blood to flow with whatever ye like, and mention the name of God."'—Abú Dáud, An Nasái.
Concerning Dogs
It is related from Jábir that he said, 'The Apostle of God ordered us to kill dogs, until a certain woman came from the desert with her dog, and we killed it. After that the Apostle of God forbade us to kill them, and said, "It is your duty to kill that one which is black all over with two spots on it; for it is Satan."'—Muslim.
It is related from Ibn ʿOmar that, 'The Prophet commanded the killing of all dogs, except dogs for hunting and sheep-dogs, or dogs for cattle.'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí.
It is related from Ibn ʿAbbás that he said, 'The Apostle of God forbade fighting between four-footed animals.'—Abú Dáud.
On what is Lawful and Unlawful as Food
It is related from Abú Hurairah that, 'The Apostle of God said, "The eating of all rapacious animals having canine teeth is unlawful."'—Muslim.
It is related from Jábir that, 'The Apostle of God, on the day of Khaibár, forbade (eating) the flesh of domestic asses, but he permitted the flesh of horses.'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí.
It is related from Ibn abú Awfi that he said, 'We went on seven warlike expeditions with the Apostle of God; and we used to eat locusts with him.'—Muslim, Al Bukhárí.
It is related from Abú Hurairah that, 'The Apostle of God said, "When a fly falls into a vessel belonging to any one of you, then let him immerse the whole of it. Afterwards let him throw it out; for verily in one of its wings is healing, and in the other, disease."'—Al Bukhárí.
It is related from Abú Hurairah that, 'The Apostle of God said, "An ant bit a certain prophet. So he gave orders regarding the ant-hill, and it was burnt. Then God Most High sent a revelation to him (saying), 'A single ant bit thee; and thou hast burnt a whole colony of peoples who praise God.'"'
It is related from Khálid binuʾl-Walíd that, 'The Apostle of God forbade eating the flesh of the horse, the mule and the ass.'—Abú Dáud, An Nasái.
It is related from Ibn ʿOmar that, 'The Apostle of God said, "Two things which have died of themselves and two bloods have been made lawful for us. The two dead things are fishes and locusts, and the two bloods are the liver and spleen."—Aḥmad, Ibn Májah.
It is related from ʿAbduʾr-Raḥmán bin abú Lailah, that Abú Lailah said, 'The Apostle of God said, "When a snake appears in a dwelling, then say to it, 'Verily we entreat thee by the covenant of Noah and by the covenant of Solomon, son of David, that thou molest us not.' Then if it returns, kill it."'—At Tirmidhí, Abú Dáud.
It is related from Abú Thʿalabahuʾl-Khushámi that, 'The Prophet said, "The genii are of three kinds: one kind has wings and flies in the heavens; one kind is composed of snakes and dogs; and one kind stays in places and goes on journeys."'—Sharḥu's-Sunnah.
Concerning the Ceremony called ʿAqiqah
It is related from Salmán bin ʿAmiruʾl-Ḍabbi that he said, 'I heard the Apostle of God say, "With the birth of a boy ʿaqíqah must be observed. Then shed blood on his behalf, and remove evil from him."'—Al Bukhárí.
It is related from Umm Kurz that she said, 'I heard the Apostle of God say, "Leave birds alone in their places." She said, "And I heard him say, 'For a boy two sheep, and for a girl one sheep; and it will not matter whether it be a male or a female.'"'—Abú Dáud, At Tirmidhí, An Nasái.
It is related from Muḥammad bin ʿAlí bin Ḥusain from ʿAlí bin abú Ṭálib that he said, 'The Apostle of God performed the ʿaqíqah ceremony on behalf of Ḥasan with one sheep and said, "O Fáṭimah, shave his head, and give in alms silver equal to the weight of his hair." Then we weighed it; and its weight was one dirham or part of a dirham.'—At Tirmidhí.
It is related from Buraidah that he said, 'In the time of ignorance when a son was born to any one of us, we used to sacrifice a sheep, and sprinkle his head with its blood. And when Islám came, we used to sacrifice a sheep on the seventh day, and shave his head and sprinkle it with saffron.'—Abú Dáud. And Razín has added the words, 'And we used to name him.'