Authored by: Dr. Rida Abdullah Pasha ḥafiẓahullāh
«اقتلوا الحيات، واقتلوا ذا الطفيتين والأبتر، فإنهما يطمسان البصر، ويتستقطان الحبل»
"Kill snakes, and kill the snake with two stripes (ذو الطفيتين) and the short-tailed snake (الأبتر), for they cause blindness and induce miscarriage."
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth no. 3123; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth no. 2233]
Abdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما also said:
"Once, I rushed to kill a snake, and Abū Lubābah called out to me not to kill it. I said: 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has commanded us to kill snakes.' He replied: 'Indeed, after that, the Prophet ﷺ forbade the killing of snakes that reside in houses.'"
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth no. 3123]
❖ Question:
What are the names of household snakes, and what harms do they cause?❖ Answer:
It is narrated from Sayyidunā Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivering a sermon from the pulpit, saying:«اقتلوا الحيات، واقتلوا ذا الطفيتين والأبتر، فإنهما يطمسان البصر، ويتستقطان الحبل»
"Kill snakes, and kill the snake with two stripes (ذو الطفيتين) and the short-tailed snake (الأبتر), for they cause blindness and induce miscarriage."
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth no. 3123; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Ḥadīth no. 2233]
Abdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما also said:
"Once, I rushed to kill a snake, and Abū Lubābah called out to me not to kill it. I said: 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has commanded us to kill snakes.' He replied: 'Indeed, after that, the Prophet ﷺ forbade the killing of snakes that reside in houses.'"
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ḥadīth no. 3123]
