Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 5 Al-Ma'idah, Ayat 95-95

يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا لَا تَقۡتُلُوا الصَّيۡدَ وَاَنۡـتُمۡ حُرُمٌ​ ؕ وَمَنۡ قَتَلَهٗ مِنۡكُمۡ مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَآءٌ مِّثۡلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ النَّعَمِ يَحۡكُمُ بِهٖ ذَوَا عَدۡلٍ مِّنۡكُمۡ هَدۡيًاۢ بٰلِغَ الۡـكَعۡبَةِ اَوۡ كَفَّارَةٌ طَعَامُ مَسٰكِيۡنَ اَوۡ عَدۡلُ ذٰ لِكَ صِيَامًا لِّيَذُوۡقَ وَبَالَ اَمۡرِهٖ​ ؕ عَفَا اللّٰهُ عَمَّا سَلَفَ​ ؕ وَمَنۡ عَادَ فَيَنۡتَقِمُ اللّٰهُ مِنۡهُ​ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ عَزِيۡزٌ ذُو انْتِقَامٍ‏ ﴿5:95﴾

(5:95) Believers! Do not kill game while you are in the state of pilgrim sanctity.110 Whoever of you kills it wilfully there shall be a recompense, the like of what he has killed in cattle - as shall be judged by two men of equity among you - to be brought to the Ka'bah as an offering, or as an expiation the feeding of the needy, or its equivalent in fasting111 in order that he may taste the grievousness of his deed. Allah has pardoned whatever has passed; but Allah will exact a penalty from him who repeats it. Allah is All-Mighty. He is fully capable of exacting penalties.


Notes

110. When a person is in the state of pilgrim sanctity (ihram) it is prohibited for him both to hunt and to assist in hunting animals. Indeed, even if an animal has been hunted for him by someone else he may not eat it. However, if someone hunts an animal for himself and makes a gift of it to such a person, there is no harm in his eating it. There is an exception to this injunction and that is with regard to harmful animals. Snakes, scorpions, mad dogs and other such animals which cause injury to man may be killed even by one in the state of ihram. (See Bukhari, 'Talaq', 24; 'Sayd', 2; Abu Da'ud, 'Manasik', 40, 41; Tirmidhi, 'Hajj', 27; 'Sayd', 26 - Ed.)

111. It would also be 'two men of equity' (Surah al-Ma'idah 5: 95) to judge as to the number of persons one should feed or the number of days one should fast by way of expiation for killing a certain animal.