Chapter: Game within the Sanctuary

Hunting its game is forbidden to both one in the state of ihram and one who is not, …

His statement, “the Sanctuary”: the definite article here refers to something mentally understood—namely, the Sanctuaries of Makkah and Madinah. Thus, the definite article here denotes the genus; that is, this is a chapter concerning the game of that which is called a sanctuary. There are no sanctuaries anywhere in the world other than these two: the Sanctuary of Makkah and the Sanctuary of Madinah.

As for what is commonly heard in people’s speech—such as “the Sanctuary of al-Aqsa Mosque” and “the Ibrahimi Sanctuary”—none of this is sound or has any basis. Thus, the wording used by some people regarding al-Aqsa Mosque, calling it “the third of the two Sanctuaries,” is misleading, for whoever hears this expression will conclude that it is a sanctuary. Rather, one should say, “the third of the two mosques,” meaning the mosques to which journeys are undertaken.

The scholars differed concerning the Wajj Valley in al-Taif. The correct view is that it is not a sanctuary.

His statement, “Hunting its game is forbidden to both one in the state of ihram and one who is not”: that is, hunting the game of the Sanctuary is forbidden both to one in the state of ihram and to one who is not in ihram, because its prohibition is due to the place. It is therefore forbidden to the pilgrim in ihram for two reasons: the Sanctuary and ihram; while it is forbidden to one not in ihram for one reason only: the Sanctuary.

If a pilgrim in ihram kills game within the Sanctuary, is he liable for two compensations because both causes are present? The correct view is that he is not liable for two compensations, because there is only one animal. Allah, Exalted is He, says: “Then the compensation is an equivalent of what he killed of grazing livestock.”