And some of those who have not deeply studied knowledge and do not distinguish between the general and the explained reports may think that the meat of game is forbidden to the muhrim in all cases, even if it is hunted by someone who is not in a state of ihram.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that when Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived, Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) reminded him and asked,“How did you narrate to us that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was presented with the meat of game?”When I reminded him, he said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was presented with the meat of game while he was in the state of Ihram, so he returned the meat and said:“Indeed, we are in the state of Ihram.”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Zuhayr narrated from his chain from Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was gifted the meat of game, so he said:“If we were not in the state of Ihram, we would have accepted it.”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the narration of Tawus from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is evidence that those narrators who narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was gifted a wild donkey, their intent is the narration of Sayyiduna Sa’b bin Jaththamah (may Allah be pleased with him). And those narrators who narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was gifted a wild donkey, it is possible that someone became confused and included the mention of the meat of game from the narration of Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) into the narration of Sayyiduna Sa’b bin Jaththamah (may Allah be pleased with him). The narration of Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was presented with the meat of a deer while he was in the state of Ihram, so he did not eat it, this narration is also similar to that of Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam and Bara’ bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with them both).

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that Sayyiduna Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Makkah Mukarramah. (In the narration of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, there is no mention of Makkah Mukarramah.) So Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) reminded him and asked, "How did you narrate to me that meat was presented to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was in the state of Ihram?" He replied, "Yes, a man presented to you a piece of a hunted animal." So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned it to him and said: "Indeed, we cannot eat it; indeed, we are in the state of Ihram."

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:“The meat of land game is lawful for you when you are in the state of ihram, provided that you did not hunt it yourself, nor was it hunted specifically for you.”The Imam has brought this narration from his teacher Nasr bin Marzooq with the same chain, in which there is mention of land game, but the word ‘meat’ is not mentioned.

Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that in the year of Hudaybiyyah, we set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) (for ‘Umrah), so my companions assumed ihram and I did not assume ihram. I saw a wild donkey, so I attacked it and hunted it. Then I mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and I also told him that I was not in the state of ihram and that I hunted it for you. So when the Prophet (peace be upon him) learned that this hunt was done by Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) for him, he himself did not eat from it and said to his companions:“You eat.”Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that these words, that indeed I hunted it for you, and these words, when I told the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that I hunted it for you, then he did not eat from it—according to my knowledge, only Mu‘ammar has narrated this addition in the wording of Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah’s (may Allah be pleased with him) narration from this chain. If these words are proven authentic, then the meaning of this hadith will be that the Prophet (peace be upon him) ate the meat of that wild donkey before Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) informed him that he had hunted it specifically for him. Then, when Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) informed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that he had hunted this donkey specifically for him, then he refrained from eating the meat and stopped. Because it is established about him that he ate the meat of that donkey. (As will come in the next narration.)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he set out on a journey with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while the noble Companions were in the state of Ihram and Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) was not in Ihram. He saw a wild donkey, so he mounted his horse (to hunt it) and asked his companions to hand him a spear or a whip, but they refused to hand it to him because they were in the state of Ihram. Therefore, he himself (got down and picked up the spear, then chased the donkey and (caught it and) slaughtered it. Then he brought the donkey and presented it. The other noble Companions also came to you and narrated the whole incident. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Do you have any of its meat?" The Companions replied, "Yes," and its thigh was presented to you and you ate from it. I have mentioned all the routes of narration of Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Kitab al-Kabir, and this is the evidence for those who say that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ate the meat of that donkey.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said, "O Sayyiduna Zaid bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him), do you know that ostrich eggs were gifted to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) while he was in the state of Ihram, and he returned those eggs?" He replied, "Yes, I know this." Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that in the narration of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), it is mentioned that when you are in the state of Ihram, it is permissible for you to eat the meat of game as long as you did not hunt it yourself, nor was it hunted specifically for you. This indicates that it is permissible for a Muhrim (one in Ihram) to eat the egg of a game animal, provided it was not obtained specifically for the Muhrim. Because the ruling regarding the egg of a game animal is not stricter than that of its meat.

Because the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him), who is responsible for explaining the revelation sent down to him from Allah Almighty, has stated that the badger is game. And Allah Almighty has forbidden hunting for the person in the state of ihram in His Book, the Noble Qur’an. The statement of Allah, the Exalted, is: «‏‏‏‏لَا تَقْتُلُوا الصَّيْدَ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌ» ‏‏‏‏ "When you are in the state of ihram, do not hunt." [ سورة المائدة: 95 ]

Abdur Rahman bin Abdullah bin Abi Ammar narrates that I met Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both), so I asked him, "Can we eat the badger?" He replied, "Yes." I asked, "Is it a game animal?" He answered, "Yes." I then asked, "Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He replied, "Yes."