whereas the hyena possesses only one of those two traits: it does have fangs, but it is not counted among the naturally aggressive beasts. A beast of prey was declared unlawful because of the fierce, predatory power it contains, a power that imparts to whoever eats it a resemblance to that nature; and, both in linguistic usage and in common custom, the hyena is not considered a beast of prey. I therefore conclude that the ḥadith, “Every beast of prey with fangs,” cannot be used as evidence for declaring the hyena forbidden.