Punishment and Ruling for Bestiality in Islam
By: Imrān Ayyūb Lāhorī
❖ Prophetic Ḥadīth
➊ Ibn ʿAbbās (RA):
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
“Man waqaʿa ʿalā bahīmah faq’tulūhu wa-qtulū al-bahīmah.”
“Whoever commits intercourse with an animal, kill him and kill the animal as well.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ibn Mājah: 2564; Musnad Aḥmad: 1/269; al-Tirmidhī: 1455; Abū Dāwūd: 4464]
Imām Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) stated: There is weakness in this isnād, and a later narration from Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) is stronger and contradicts this ruling.
[Talqīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 4/55]
➋ Another narration from Ibn ʿAbbās (RA):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Man atā bahīmah falā ḥadda ʿalayh.”
“Whoever commits intercourse with an animal, there is no fixed ḥadd upon him.”
[Ḥasan: Abū Dāwūd: 3748, 4465; al-Tirmidhī: 1455]
❖ Scholarly Opinions
- al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (رحمه الله): He is treated like a fornicator.
- al-Ḥākim (رحمه الله): Lashed with a punishment less than zinā.
- Abū Yūsuf (رحمه الله): Full ḥadd of zinā applies.
- Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Aḥmad (رحمهم الله): Only taʿzīr (discretionary punishment) applies.
- Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān (رحمه الله): The ḥadīth prescribing killing is not reliable, hence only taʿzīr applies.
- Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (رحمه الله): “Kill” may mean harsh beating, warning, or a strong rebuke.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/569; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/845; al-Bayhaqī: 8/234; al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/593; al-Mirqāt: 7/163; Sabil al-Salām: 4/1689]
Rājiḥ: Only taʿzīr is applied.
[Talqīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 4/55]
❖ Ruling Regarding the Animal
When Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) was asked why the animal should be killed, he said:
“I have not heard anything from the Prophet ﷺ regarding this, but I think it was to prevent eating its meat or benefitting from it after such an act.”
[Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 1455]
- Abū Ḥanīfah & Abū Yūsuf (رحمهما الله): Eating the meat of such an animal is makrūh tanzīhī (mildly disliked).
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 4/569]
Another narration states:
“Nahā al-nabī ﷺ ʿan dhabḥ al-ḥayawān illā li-aklih.”
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade slaughtering animals except for eating.”
[Muwaṭṭa’: 2/447; Abū Dāwūd in al-Marāsīl: 316; Talqīṣ al-Ḥabīr: 3/121]
Rājiḥ: The animal is not to be killed, but its meat is not free from karāhah.
[Maʿālim al-Sunan: 3/288; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 4/846]
Conclusion:- The perpetrator is punished with taʿzīr (discretionary lashes or other punishment), not ḥadd.
- The animal is not killed, though consuming its meat is discouraged.
- The rājiḥ view aligns with authentic narrations and the understanding of Ibn ʿAbbās (RA).
