Game meat for the muhrim

Abdullah bin al-Harith bin Nawfal narrates: My father, Sayyiduna al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him), was in charge of (an affair of) Makkah in the time of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Makkah. Abdullah says: I received Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) at the halting place of Qudayd. The people of the watering place there hunted partridges; we cooked them in water and salt and made them into (meat pieces for) tharid. We presented it to Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companions, but they held back from it. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This is game which we did not hunt, nor did we order it to be hunted; people who are not in ihram hunted it and gave it to us to eat, so what is the harm in it? Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Who says this (that it should not be eaten)? The people said: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) sent for Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he came to him. Abdullah bin al-Harith says: It is as if I can still see Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) when he came, brushing leaves off his palms. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Game which we did not hunt, nor did we order it to be hunted; people who are not in ihram hunted it, and if they give it to us to eat, what is the harm in that? The narrator says: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry and said: I ask, by Allah, any man who was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the leg of a wild donkey was brought to him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "We are in a state of ihram; feed it to those who are not in ihram." The narrator says: Twelve men from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) bore witness to this. Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I ask, by Allah, any man who was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when ostrich eggs were brought to him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "We are in a state of ihram; feed it to those who are not in ihram." The narrator says: Fewer than twelve people bore witness to this. Then Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) turned his leg away and rose from the food, went to his lodging, and the people who lived by the water there ate that food. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Abu Dawud recorded from this report the part about the leg of the wild donkey, without mentioning the number of those who bore witness.
Ahmad recorded it; Abu Ya'la recorded something similar, and al-Bazzar recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Zayd, about whom there has been a great deal of criticism, although he has been declared trustworthy.

In one narration the wording is: "Five ostrich eggs were brought."

In one narration recorded by him (Ahmad), the wording is: Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) halted at Qudayd, and partridges were brought to him in large bowls, with their legs raised upward. He sent a message to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who was preparing fodder for his camel. He came, brushing leaves off his hands. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) held back, and the people held back too. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Who is here from the tribe of Ashja'? Do you know that when a Bedouin brought ostrich eggs and small pieces of dried game meat to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Feed these to your family, for we are in a state of ihram"? The people replied: Yes, indeed. Sayyiduna Uthman al-Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him), who was sitting on his couch, came down and said: It has become impure (khabith) for us (that is, it is no longer proper for us to eat it).
Ahmad recorded it. Its chain contains a narrator, Ali bin Zayd, about whom there has been criticism, but he has also been declared trustworthy. The rest of its narrators are the narrators of the "Sahih".

Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: A "washiqah" (dried meat) of a deer was presented as a gift to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was in a state of ihram, and he returned it.
Ahmad and Abu Ya'la recorded it, and he (Abu Ya'la) added these words: Sufyan says: "Washiqah" is meat that is cooked and then dried. The narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the "Sahih".

Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) halted at Marr al-Zahran, and a limb of a hunted animal was presented to him as a gift. He returned it to the messenger and said: "Convey my salam to him and tell him: Had we not been in a state of ihram, we would not have returned it."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Saghir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat. Its chain contains a narrator, Hammad bin Shu'ayb, who is da'if (weak).