it in veneration of a king, president, minister, or the like, then it is not lawful, because it has been done for other than Allah. This constitutes a sixth condition.

If someone were to say: Al-Sa‘b ibn Jaththamah, may Allah be pleased with him, went out and hunted a wild donkey for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.

We say: This was done to honor the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him; it was not an act of veneration intended as a means of drawing near to him.

Another condition of hunting is that the game itself be lawful to hunt. Thus, if someone hunts game in Mecca, within the boundaries of the Sacred Sanctuary, or hunts it while in the state of ihram, it is not lawful.

It is not a condition that the game not belong to someone else. Accordingly, if a man goes about the town tracking down and hunting the pigeons belonging to Allah’s servants, they are lawful according to the general ruling, but doing so is forbidden for him. That is, they are lawful to eat despite his sin—except according to the second view in the issue of slaughter, (1) which also applies here.

If it is asked: What is the ruling on hunting at a time when the state prohibits hunting?

The answer is that we must obey the ruler except in disobedience to Allah, for there is no obedience in sin. Accordingly, it is not permissible to hunt at a time or in a place in which the state prohibits hunting, and game hunted in such circumstances is not lawful. And Allah knows best.