His statement: “and the bat”: it is known among us as the khuffāsh (bat), and it is the creature that flies at night.

The sixth category: his statement, “and whatever is born from an edible animal and another, such as the mule.” Every animal born from an animal that is lawful to eat and another that is not is unlawful, because the lawful has become intermixed with the unlawful in a manner such that neither can be distinguished from the other. It is therefore unlawful, since in that case the unlawful cannot be avoided except by avoiding the lawful; and avoiding what is unlawful is obligatory, so avoiding the lawful becomes obligatory.

The mule is born from the mating of a donkey with a mare. For this reason, it is reported in a hadith narrated by Abu Dawud—and there is no problem with it—that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—forbade having a donkey mate with a mare (1). Thus, the mule is unlawful. The reason is that Allah the Exalted has forbidden domestic donkeys, while the mule is born of a donkey and a horse. The horse is lawful, but the lawful cannot be distinguished from the unlawful; consequently, the whole is deemed unlawful, because whatever is necessary to fulfill an obligation is itself obligatory.

In summary, if we add what I have mentioned to the author’s words—may Allah have mercy on him—the categories become seven. If we omit the fifth category mentioned by the author, they become six: these are the categories of prohibited land animals. As for sea animals, we have already stated that all of them are lawful, citing the saying of Allah the Exalted: “... Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food, as a provision for you and for travelers; but forbidden to you is the game of the land so long as you are in the state of consecration.” [al-Ma’idah 5:96] We said that “its game” refers to what is caught alive, while “its food” refers to what is found dead. This is how Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with him—explained it.