Hunting rules and meat from an ahl al-kitab hunter

Question

When hunting meat such as deer, one has to say Bismillah, Allahu Akbar just before shooting — and if the shooter is a non-Muslim, such as a Jew or Christian, the meat is permissible. Are these statements true, and what are the actual rulings on hunting?

Mufti Sajid · Accepted Answer

Muslims are permitted to hunt lawful animals and birds that cannot be easily caught and slaughtered, including non-meat-eating animals such as deer and wild rabbits, subject to conditions: the hunter must be sane and intend the act for its lawful purpose (game hunted by a pagan or an insane person is not lawful); the game must belong to a category that cannot be easily slaughtered; the hunting weapon must kill by its sharpness (an arrow or bullet — meat killed by a blunt weapon like a rock is not lawful unless slaughtered before it dies); the name of Allah must be pronounced when the weapon is discharged; and if the game is still alive when found, it must be slaughtered straightaway. Hunting is permitted only for food, not merely for sport.

Regarding Ahl al-Kitab: in the Hanafi school, it is permissible to eat their hunted or slaughtered meat only if the name of Allah is invoked, or at least not replaced with another name, and the animal is properly slaughtered.

Bada'i al-Sana'i (5/43): "Meat slaughtered by Ahl al-Kitab is halal if the name of Allah is (at minimum) not replaced, and the slaughter is valid."

*Allahu 'alam.*

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