preserve its life and give it the chance to cross. If you are unable to do that—for example, you accidentally run it over and cannot avoid it—there is no blame on you. You would be sinful only if you intentionally killed it without a valid reason, because such animals are inviolable and do not cause harm.

Question: Cats are tame animals, yet if a cat causes harm—such as damaging some property or eating chickens—may one destroy it?

Answer: Yes. Any harmful creature—whether a cat or something else—that causes damage and cannot be restrained by lesser measures may be killed in order to remove its harm and prevent further damage.

***

The slaughtered animals of the People of the Book

Question: We are a group living in a village in Upper Egypt where many butchers are Christian. We eat the meat they sell us. Is this forbidden, O virtuous Shaykh? Please advise us.

Answer: This is not forbidden. The slaughtered animals of the People of the Book are permissible, as indicated by the Almighty’s words: “The food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them” (Al-Maʾidah 5:5). The “food” referred to here means their slaughtered animals.

Allah, exalted be He, has allowed us to eat the meat slaughtered by the People of the Book, on the condition that they perform the slaughter in the prescribed Islamic manner. If they slaughter by means contrary to the Sharīʿah—such as electric shock, strangulation, stabbing, or the like—their meat is not to be eaten, just as the meat slaughtered by a Muslim is also unlawful if he uses those same methods.