that are strong enough to tear through skins. A bird may swoop past a rabbit while in flight and strike it with these claws until they rip its skin. What is not meant by a talon is the spur that protrudes from a rooster’s leg. It is indeed a claw, but it is not used for hunting.

“Such as the eagle, goshawk, falcon, peregrine falcon, sparrowhawk, kite, owl; and those that eat carrion, such as the vulture, Egyptian vulture, stork, magpie, pied crow, the small dusky-black crow, and the large black crow, ...”

His statement, “such as the eagle, goshawk, falcon, peregrine falcon, sparrowhawk, kite, and owl”: these are examples of birds that hunt with their talons, and they are well-known birds.

The fourth category is indicated by his statement, “and those that eat carrion.” There are birds that eat carrion but do not hunt; when they see a carcass, they descend upon it and eat from it. The author gave the following examples: “such as the vulture, Egyptian vulture, stork, and magpie.” These are well-known birds. The Arabs regard the magpie and the owl as bad omens. A poet said:

“Whoever catches one magpie is ill-fated; so what of one who catches two magpies and an owl?”

That is, it would be even more severe.

But Islam teaches: “There is no contagion and no bad omen.” (1) Whoever opens the door of superstition for himself will suffer.

His statement, “the pied crow”: that is, one that has a white patch. This too is unlawful. This excludes a small crow resembling a pigeon, which they say is lawful because it does not eat carrion.