He then cited the report of ʿAbd Allah ibn Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him): “We marched with the Prophet ﷺ on seven campaigns during which we ate locusts along with him.” Locusts are well known and are lawful to consume, whether they are taken alive or found dead. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Two dead creatures and two kinds of blood have been made lawful for us: the two dead creatures are locusts and fish.” For that reason locusts require no ritual slaughter, even though they fall under the heading of game.

If locusts are found within Mecca, however, it is forbidden to hunt them or to drive them from their place. Anyone who sees someone hunting them inside the Sacred Precinct must rebuke him and prevent him, for they are a form of game whose capture is prohibited in Mecca, just like birds and other animals.

This also shows that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) regarded the Prophet’s ﷺ tacit approval as proof: when they did something and he left it unchallenged, they deemed it lawful—and so it is—for the Messenger ﷺ was capable of stopping them, and his silence is an indication of permissibility.

As for the hadith of Abu Hurayra, the Prophet ﷺ said, “A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice.” The bite here is the bite of a snake. A believer is intelligent, alert, and cautious; he is not bitten from the same hole twice, meaning that if some harm reaches him through any action, he will not return to it because he is on guard. Should he be bitten from a hole once, he leaves it, knowing there is no benefit in going back. Thus, the believer