Scholarly Testimonies Confirming That Buffaloes Are a Type of Cattle

(1) Allama Mazari, may Allah have mercy on him, says:

الجاموس : ضرب من البقر

Buffalo is a type of cow.

(2) Allama Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:

الجواميس نوع من البقر ، والبخاتي نوع من الإبل ، والضأن والمعز جنس واحد

Buffaloes are a type of cow; Bakhati camels are a type of camel; and bullocks and goats (both) are of one genus.

(3) Allama Majd Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:

الجواميس نوع من البقر

Buffaloes are a type of cow.

(4) Allama Muhammad ibn Abdullah Al-Zarkashi says:

قال : والجواميس كغيرها من البقر

He said: Buffaloes, apart from themselves, are like cows.

(5) Also, Allama Mansur Bahuti, may Allah have mercy on him, states in “Al-Rawd al-Murabba’”:

لحم البقر والجواميس جنس

The meat of cow and buffalo is of one kind.

(6) Allama Ibn Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, says:

ومن البقر صنف له سنام فهو أشبه بالإبل ويوجد فى بلاد فارس ودخل بلاد العرب وهو الجاموس ، والبمر العربي لاسنام له وثورها يسمى الفريش

And there is a type of cow called “Kohan,” which resembles a camel more, and it is found in the region of Persia and has entered the Arab regions. It is the “Jamoos” buffalo. The Arabic cow is not called “Koban,” and its bull is called “Farish.”

(7) Allama Abdul Baqi Zarqani says:

والجواميس جمع جاموس ، نوع من البقر

Jawaamis: is the plural of Jamoos, a type of cow.

(8) Allama Badruddin Ayni says:

جواميس والبقر سواء لأنهانوع منه ، فتتناولهما النصوص الواردة باسم البقر

Buffaloes and cows are the same because the buffalo is a type of cow. Therefore, the texts mentioning cows include both.

(9) Allama Burhanuddin Mahmood bin Ahmad Bukhari says:

لأن البقر اسم جنس والجاموس اسم نوع

Because “cow” is the name of the genus and “buffalo” is the name of the species.

(10) Imam Ibn Mahdi, Sufyan Thawri, and Imam Malik say:

إن الجواميس من البقر

Buffaloes are among cows.

(11) Allama Muhammad bin Muhammad Ya Barqi says:

ويدخل فى البقر الجاموس لأنه من جنسه

And buffalo is also included in cows, because it is of the same genus.

(12) Allama Fakhruddin Zailai Hanafi says:

( والجاموس كالبقر) لأنه بقر حقيقة إذ هو نوع منه فيتناوهما النصوص الواردة باسم البقر . . . وقوله : والخاموس كالبقر ليس بجيد؛ لأنه يوهم أنه ليس ببقر

Buffalo is like a cow, because it is a true cow. Since it is of the same species, the texts that mention cows include both… And the author’s saying “like a cow” is not good, because this expression causes the misconception that buffalo is not a cow!!

(13) Allama Badruddin Ayni in Sharh Al-Hidaya says:

والجواميس والبقر سواء؛ لأن اسم البقر يتناولهما إذ هو نوع منه

Buffaloes and cows are both the same; because the name cow includes both, since it is of the same species.

(14) Allama Zainuddin, known as Ibn Najim Al-Masri, says:

الجوَامِيسُ مِنْ الْبَقَرِ؛ لأنَّهَانَوع منه

Buffaloes are among cows, because they are a type of cow.

(15) Allama Abdul Ghani bin Talib Mashqi Midani says:

( والجواميس والبقر سواء) لاتحاد الجنسية؛ إذ هو نوع منه

Buffaloes and cows are equal, because they are of the same genus, being a type of it.

(16) Allama Muhammad bin Abdullah Khurshi Maliki says:

(تنبية) : من البقر الجاموس

Note: Buffalo is also included in cow.

(17) Allama Muhammad Ahmad Dusouqi says:

ومن البقر الجاموس

Buffalo is also included in cow.

(18) Allama Ahmad Muhammad Khalwati Sawi Maliki says:

الجاموس صنف من البقر

Buffalo is a type of cow.

(19) Allama Abdul Baqi Zarqani states in Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil:

روي انه صلى الله عليه وسلم تحر عن أزواجه البقر ، وروي ذبح عن أزواجه البقر ، روي آنهره ومن البقر الجاموس

It is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that he sacrificed a cow on behalf of his wives, and in one narration it is mentioned that he slaughtered (and buffalo is also included in the cow).

(20) Imam Abu Zakariya al-Nawawi states:

والصواب ما قدمناه أن البقر جنس ونوعاه الجواميس والعراب

The correct statement is what we have said before: that cow is a genus and it has two types, buffaloes and ‘Arab cows’.

(21) Allama Muhammad bin Ahmad Battal Rakbi Yamani states:

الجواميس : نوع من البقر : معروف

Buffaloes are known as a type of cow.

(22) Allama Sulayman bin Muhammad Takbiri al-Masri states:

والبقر اسم جنس . . . وهى أجناس منها الجواميس

Baqar (cow) is a generic name; it has many types, among them are buffaloes as well.

(23) Imam Ishaq bin Mansur says:

البقر جنس ، والجواميس نوع من أنواعه

Baqar (cow) is a genus, and buffalo is one of its types.

(24) Allama Ibn Qudamah in Al-Mughni says:

ولأن الجواميس من أنواع البقر ، كما أن البحاني من أنواع الإبل

Because buffaloes are among the types of cows, just as Bakhti camels are among the types of camels.

(25) Allama Abdul Rahman Jazairi says:

والمراد بالبقر ما يشمل الجاموس

Baqar (cow) refers to that which includes the buffalo.

(26) Allama Ibn Hazm says:

مسألة : الجواميس صنف من البقر

The issue is that buffaloes are a type of cow.

(27) In the Fiqh Encyclopedia of Kuwait:

الجواميس جمع جاموس وهو نوع من البقر

Jawamis: plural of Jamus (buffalo), and it is a type of cow.

(28) Sheikh Syed Sabiq says:

و بهيمة الأنعام هي : الابل والبقر ومنه الجاموس والغنم

Baheemat al-An’am (cattle): camel, cow, and among them is the buffalo, and goat.

(29) The authors of Al-Fiqh Al-Muyassar write:

والبقر يشمل الجاموس أيضا ، فهو نوع من البقر

And buffalo is also included, because it is a type of cow.

(30) Sheikh Abu Malik Kamal bin Al-Sayyid Salim says:

إن الجاموس صنف من البقر بالإجماع

Buffalo is a type of cow in the context of sexual intercourse.
These are a few examples of the statements of the scholars of the Ummah; otherwise, there are countless such statements and explanations.