His statement, “the ghudāf, a small, dusty-black crow”: it is known to the author, but it is not known in our land.

His statement, “the large black crow”: this is distinct from the pied crow. Thus, crows fall into three categories: the pied crow, the large black crow, and the small black crow.

The small black crow, which resembles a pigeon and has a black beak, is lawful. The large black crow and the pied crow, however, are unlawful.

Regarding this fourth category, Shaykh al-Islam says: “There are two reports concerning it, as with the jallālah.” That is, there are two narrations from Imam Ahmad: one holds that it is unlawful, while the other holds that it is lawful.

According to Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, all birds are lawful; none of them is prohibited. It seems that the hadith of Ibn Abbas had not reached him: “The Prophet ﷺ forbade every beast of prey with fangs and every bird with talons.” (1)

The wisdom behind prohibiting birds that hunt with their talons is what we have already mentioned concerning the prohibition of beasts that prey with their fangs: if a person feeds on this type of bird, whose nature is aggression and harm, he may acquire some of its traits and characteristics. For this reason, the scholars said that a person should not have his child nursed by a foolish woman, lest the child be affected by her milk.

The fourth category consists of those that eat carrion, such as the jallālah—an animal whose feed consists predominantly of impure substances. The scholars have two views concerning it: