813 – Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever gives shelter to a stray animal is himself astray until he makes it known.” Recorded by Muslim (1).
Vocabulary of the ḥadith
– “Gives shelter to a stray” (āwā ḍāllah): the verb ʾawā/yaʾwī (“to seek refuge”), as in the verse, “When the youths took refuge in the cave” (18:10). With the elongated vowel (āwā) it becomes transitive, meaning “to gather or give shelter,” as in, “He drew his brother close to him” (12:69). One may say āwāhu or ʾāwāhu.
– “Stray” (ḍāllah): Al-Azhari and others state that the term applies only to animals; the plural is ḍawāl. For possessions one uses luqṭah (lost property), not ḍāllah.
– “He is astray” (fa-huwa ḍāll): here it means that he is not acting soundly; he is far from what is right.
Points derived from the ḥadith
- The ḥadith shows that it is not permissible to pick up stray camels, for they carry their own water supply and have their feet to walk; they can reach water and graze on trees until their owner finds them.
- If someone nevertheless takes such an animal and it dies while in his possession, he must pay for it—whether its death was due to aggression, negligence, or neither—because his possession of it is tantamount to usurpation.
- The finder is described as “astray” because he acted without insight. Leaving stray animals where they are makes it likelier that the owner will recover them, for he will search in the very places where they were lost. By contrast, the finder has concealed it,