Killing snakes and the permission for it

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in a cave when this verse was revealed: "By those sent forth in succession." As soon as it was revealed, we took it fresh from the blessed mouth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Just then a snake entered the cave, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Kill it." We had only just rushed forward to kill the snake when it escaped. Then he said: "Allah has protected it from your harm just as He protected you from its harm."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Kill snakes in every circumstance.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to order the killing of the snake with two stripes on its back.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Keep your homes clean, do not let vermin breed in them, and frighten them before they frighten you, for a Muslim (jinn) will not appear before you in their form.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever kills a snake, it is as if he has killed a disbeliever.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Kill all snakes; only do not kill the snake that is like the stick of a kohl container, for it is a jinn.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to kill snakes and order them to be killed, and he would say: The jann (slender white snakes) are a transformed form of the jinn, just as the apes are transformed forms from the Children of Israel.

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to order that snakes be killed and thrown away.

Al-Hasan and Muhammad used to order the killing of all snakes except the jann (the slender silvery snake).

Ibrahim said: The predecessors used to order the killing of all snakes except the jann, which looks like a rod of silver.

Ibn Abi Talhah said: I asked Abu Ja'far about killing snakes, and he said: I wish there were someone who would track them down and kill them, and we would give him a wage for it.

Alqamah said: Killing a snake and killing a disbeliever are alike; however, it is not right to kill the snake that is like the stick of a kohl container, for it is a jinn.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the killing of the snake with two stripes on its back, for it seeks out the eyesight and causes miscarriage, meaning a vicious snake.

Sayyiduna Abu Layla (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Once a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about snakes in houses. He said: "If you see them in your houses, say to them: 'We remind you of the covenant you made with Nuh, we remind you of the covenant you made with Sulayman bin Dawud, that you do not harm us.' Then if you still see any of them, kill it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever kills a snake has killed a disbeliever."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever kills a snake has killed a disbeliever.

Mujahid said: Whoever kills a snake has killed a disbelieving enemy.