He was asked:

About a farmer whose religious observance and prayers are unknown. A shaykh in his town has given him authorization, and he has since taken to eating snakes and scorpions, abandoned farming, and begun seeking his livelihood. Is it permissible to give him charity or not?

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. Eating foul things, including snakes and scorpions, is forbidden by the consensus of the Muslims. Whoever eats them while believing this to be lawful must be called upon to repent and, unless he repents, is to be put to death. Whoever believes that eating them is forbidden but nevertheless eats them is an evildoer who disobeys Allah and His Messenger. How, then, could he be a righteous man? Even if he ritually slaughtered a snake, eating it afterwards would remain forbidden according to the overwhelming majority of scholars, for the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Five harmful creatures are to be killed both outside and within the Sacred Precinct: the snake, the scorpion, the kite, the mouse, and the vicious dog.”

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—thus commanded that these creatures be killed both outside and within the Sacred Precinct. He called them transgressors because they transgress—that is, they turn upon people and attack them, making it impossible to guard against them, just as one cannot guard against attacking beasts of prey. It follows that