Eighth: the slaughter must be permitted by the Sacred Law. If it is not permitted, then there are two possibilities: either it is prohibited due to Allah’s right, or it is prohibited due to the right of someone other than Allah.

The first is that which is not permitted due to Allah’s right, such as hunting while in the state of consecration for pilgrimage, or hunting within the Sacred Precinct. Thus, if a pilgrim in the state of consecration slaughters game, it is unlawful, even if all the conditions are fulfilled, because it has not been permitted by the Sacred Law. Allah the Exalted says:

“Forbidden to you is the game of the land while you are in the state of pilgrimage consecration.” [Quran 5:96]

And the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The game of the land is lawful for you so long as you neither hunt it yourselves nor have it hunted for you.” (1)

Moreover, al-Sa‘b ibn Jaththāmah, may Allah be pleased with him, presented the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with a wild donkey, but he returned it to him and said, “We only returned it to you because we are in the state of consecration.” (2) That is, they were in the state of pilgrimage consecration. Al-Sa‘b ibn Jaththāmah had hunted it for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

The second is that which is not permitted due to the right of another person, such as an animal that has been unlawfully usurped, stolen, plundered, or the like. Regarding this, the scholars have two views, both of which are reported from Imam Ahmad:

The first view is that it is not lawful, because it was not permitted. For example, if a man unlawfully usurps a sheep and slaughters it, it is not lawful, because this slaughter is not permitted