1150 – Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “On the day of Khaybar the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the meat of domesticated donkeys and permitted the meat of horses.” Agreed upon. In another wording preserved by al-Bukhārī it reads: “and he granted a concession” (1).

Lexical notes
• Domesticated donkeys: al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ defines the donkey as a tame member of the equine family used for carrying loads and for riding. Ḥayāt al-Ḥayawān adds that the donkey is renowned for finding its way along roads it has travelled even once and for the sharpness of its hearing. People praise or disparage it according to their various purposes.

• Horses: a collective noun for steeds; it has no true singular from its root, and its plurals include akhyāl and khuyūl. They are called khayl because of the proud, high-stepping manner of their gait. It is said that the first to ride them was Ishmael—peace be upon him—in Makkah; hence they were later termed al-ʿirāb. Al-Nasāʾī narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Ride horses, for they are the legacy of your father Ishmael.” The Prophet ﷺ organised horse races, fixing both the starting point and the finish line; Solomon—peace be upon him—likewise raced them and delighted in the sight. Thus horses have always held an illustrious place. Allah the Exalted says: “And through steeds of war tethered for battle you terrify thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy” (Q 8:60). Al-Damīrī remarked, “The horse is the noblest creature ever ridden.”

Points derived from the ḥadīth

1. The ḥadīth establishes the prohibition of eating the flesh of domesticated donkeys, even if they later turn feral.

(1) The phrase “and he granted a concession” appears in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.