Mukhtasar Muslim (Abridged) 1393 — Prohibition of branding animals

Na'im bin Abi Abdullah, the freed slave of Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), narrates that he heard Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a donkey that had been branded on its face, and he disliked it. Ibn Abbas said: By Allah, I only brand at a place far from the face (i.e., on the thigh, etc.), and he ordered his donkey to be branded, so it was branded on the thighs. And he (Ibn Abbas) was the first to brand on the thighs.