Ruling on Hunting with a Gun: Halal or Haram?
Source: Fatāwā Rashidiyyah, p. 482
❖ Question:
Is hunting with a gun permissible (ḥalāl)?
For example, when a hunter says “Bismillāh, Allāhu Akbar” before firing at a bird, and the bird dies from the shot before the hunter can perform slaughter—what is the Shar‘i ruling?
Some scholars argue that such hunting is permissible, similar to hunting with a trained hawk, dog, or arrow. Is gun-hunting also considered permissible in the same way?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d!
- If an animal hunted with a gun dies before slaughter, it is harām and impermissible to eat.
- The principle in Sharī‘ah is that hunting must be done with something sharp that penetrates the body due to its sharpness and force.
- If the prey dies from pressure, weight, or blunt force (like being struck by a stone), and not from a penetrating wound, then if it dies before slaughter, it is considered dead meat (maytah) and is harām.
Hunting with a gun also kills by impact and pressure, not by a sharp cut. Therefore, if the prey dies before slaughter, it is harām.
✿ Evidence from Hadith
① Narration of ‘Adī ibn Ḥātim (RA):
I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about hunting injuries. He said:
((إذا أصبت بحده فكل وإذا أصاب بعرضه فقتل فإنه وقيذ فلا تأكل))
“If the prey is struck by the sharp edge, then eat. But if it is struck by the blunt side and dies due to the blow, then do not eat.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Dhabā’iḥ wa al-Ṣayd, Ḥadīth: 5486)
② Another narration:
((إذا رميت فسميت فخزقت فكل وإن لم تخزق فلا تأكل ولا من المعراض إلا ما ذكيت ولا تأكل من البندقية إلا ما ذكيت))
“If you shoot and say Allah’s name, and the weapon pierces (the prey), then eat. But if it does not pierce, then do not eat. Do not eat from prey killed by a blunt arrow or from a gun except that which you are able to slaughter.”
(Ittiḥād, vol. 6, p. 24)
Conclusion:
Hunting with a gun is not permissible if the animal dies before slaughter. Only if the prey remains alive and can be slaughtered properly is it lawful to eat.
