Ruling on Game Shot with an Arrow and Later Found in Water
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
If an animal is shot with an arrow and later found dead in water after some days, it is halal as long as it has not started to smell and it is not known that it died due to someone else’s arrow. However, if it is found in the water, it becomes haram because the cause of death is uncertain.
① Hadith of ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim رضي الله عنه
When he asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about hunting, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When you shoot (the arrow), say Bismillah. If you find the animal dead, you may eat it —
إلا أن تجده قد وقع في ماء فإنك لا تدرى الماء قتله أو سهمك
‘Except if you find it has fallen into water, for you do not know whether the water killed it or your arrow.’”
[Muslim 1929, Book of Hunting and Slaughtering]
② Another narration states:
وإن رميت الصيد فوجدته بعد يوم أو يومين ليس به إلا أثر سهمك فكل وإن وقع في الماء فلا تأكل
“If you shoot the game and find it after a day or two with no marks other than your arrow, then eat it. But if it has fallen into water, do not eat it.”
[Bukhari 5484; Ahmad 4/379]
③ Hadith of Abu Thaʿlabah al-Khushanī رضي الله عنه
إذا رميت سهمك فغاب ثلاثة أيام أدركته فكله ما لم ينتن
“If you shoot your arrow at game and find it after three days, then eat it, as long as it has not developed a bad smell.”
[Muslim 1931, Book of Hunting and Slaughtering]
Imam al-Nawawī رحمه الله said:
If you find your hunted animal drowned in water, it is haram by consensus.
[Sharḥ Muslim 7/90]
Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori
If an animal is shot with an arrow and later found dead in water after some days, it is halal as long as it has not started to smell and it is not known that it died due to someone else’s arrow. However, if it is found in the water, it becomes haram because the cause of death is uncertain.
Hadith Evidences
① Hadith of ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim رضي الله عنه
When he asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about hunting, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When you shoot (the arrow), say Bismillah. If you find the animal dead, you may eat it —
إلا أن تجده قد وقع في ماء فإنك لا تدرى الماء قتله أو سهمك
‘Except if you find it has fallen into water, for you do not know whether the water killed it or your arrow.’”
[Muslim 1929, Book of Hunting and Slaughtering]
② Another narration states:
وإن رميت الصيد فوجدته بعد يوم أو يومين ليس به إلا أثر سهمك فكل وإن وقع في الماء فلا تأكل
“If you shoot the game and find it after a day or two with no marks other than your arrow, then eat it. But if it has fallen into water, do not eat it.”
[Bukhari 5484; Ahmad 4/379]
③ Hadith of Abu Thaʿlabah al-Khushanī رضي الله عنه
إذا رميت سهمك فغاب ثلاثة أيام أدركته فكله ما لم ينتن
“If you shoot your arrow at game and find it after three days, then eat it, as long as it has not developed a bad smell.”
[Muslim 1931, Book of Hunting and Slaughtering]
Scholarly Consensus
Imam al-Nawawī رحمه الله said:
If you find your hunted animal drowned in water, it is haram by consensus.
[Sharḥ Muslim 7/90]
