that one may not hunt with any predator other than the dog—neither a goshawk, nor a falcon, nor anything else—unless the animal is overtaken while still alive so that proper slaughter can be performed. This was the opinion of Mujāhid.

Some jurists, however, made an exception among the birds of prey for the goshawk alone and said: only its catch is lawful.

The roots of their disagreement in this matter are twofold:

1. Whether the rest of the predatory animals may be analogically compared to dogs. One might suppose that the revealed text speaks solely about dogs—namely, the Almighty’s words, “and such of the hunting animals as you train, being trainers of dogs” (al-Māʾidah 5:4)—unless the term “mukallibīn” is understood to stem from kallaba al-jāriḥ (“to train a predator”) rather than from the word “dog.” The general use of the term “jawāriḥ” (predators) in the verse supports this second reading. Hence, the first cause of disagreement lies in the semantic ambiguity of the word “mukallibīn.”

2. Whether it is a condition that the animal hold the prey for its owner; and, if so, whether that quality exists in any creature besides the dog.

Accordingly, whoever maintains that other predators cannot be compared to the dog, that “mukallibīn” derives from “dog” and not from anything else, or that holding the prey for the hunter is found only in the dog—and is therefore mandatory—will conclude that no predator other than the dog may be used for hunting.

Conversely, whoever extends the analogy from the dog to all other predators and does not require that the animal hold the quarry for its owner will say: hunting with any predator is permissible, provided it can be trained.

As for the view that singles out the goshawk alone, it is based on the report narrated from ʿAdiyy ibn Ḥātim, who said: “I asked the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—about hunting with the goshawk, and he replied, ‘Whatever it catches for you, eat.’” Al-Tirmidhī recorded this ḥadīth.

These, then, are the reasons for their agreement and disagreement concerning the kinds of predatory animals.

Regarding the conditions stipulated for such predators, the scholars agree on one in particular—namely, that the animal must be trained—because of the Almighty’s words, “and such of the hunting animals as you train, being trainers of dogs” (al-Māʾidah 5:4), and the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—statement, “When you release your trained dog….” They differ, however, about the precise features and prerequisites of that training.

Some of them said that training comprises three qualities:

1. When you call the predator, it responds;
2. When you unleash it, it sets off; and
3. When you forbid it, it refrains.

There is no dispute that these three qualities are required in the dog; the debate concerns only whether the requirement of refraining applies to other predators.

They also differed over whether it is a condition that the predator not eat from the quarry: some stipulated this absolutely, while others limited the stipulation to the dog alone.

And Mālik’s position is