Hence, this noble verse gives a general license to eat the flesh of animals, except where the Law has expressly forbidden it. Whatever prohibitions are mentioned in Sūrat al-Māʾidah or in hadiths dealing with forbidden foods—such as the report under discussion—qualify and restrict the apparent sense of this verse.

3 – Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Saʿdī said: “Since Allah has prohibited from all foods only what He has listed, and since prohibition can come from no source other than the revealed law, it follows that the polytheists who declared unlawful what Allah had provided for them were inventing lies about Allah and attributing to Him what He never said.”

4 – The present hadith establishes the prohibition of every beast that possesses canine teeth and every bird that has talons. Thus every predator with a canine tooth is forbidden, and every bird of prey with talons is likewise forbidden—such as the lion, the leopard, and the wolf, i.e., a predatory animal that combines both traits: a canine tooth and a natural inclination to hunt. If either of these two characteristics is missing, the animal is not unlawful. This hadith therefore clarifies and explains what the verse left general, and this is the position of the majority of scholars, including the three imams: Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad.

5 – Concerning taloned birds, al-Nawawī said: “Their prohibition is the view of the majority—Abū Ḥanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, and others—for the Sunnah has widely transmitted the prohibition of such birds, and a prohibition denotes unlawfulness.”

Ibn al-Qayyim stated: “The reports from the Prophet ﷺ forbidding every beast with canine teeth and every bird with talons have reached the level of tawātur and are sound beyond all criticism.”

6 – Shaykh al-Islām observed: “The habitual aggressor resembles the blatant transgressor; therefore, a measure of oppression and hostility settles in him in proportion to his aggression.”

Professor Ṭabbārah said: “The Prophet ﷺ forbade every bird with talons and every beast with canine teeth because their musculature is tough and their odor repugnant. The meat of such animals is unsuitable for the human stomach: they expend great muscular effort in preying on other creatures, which strengthens and hardens their muscles and makes their flesh difficult to digest.”