others.

Al-Shāfiʿī held that, because all five belong to the class of creatures that are not eaten, anything that is not eaten may likewise be killed without any fidyah (expiation).

The two Imāms, Mālik and Aḥmad, maintained that the common denominator between these five and whatever resembles them is their inherently harmful nature.

This is a sound analogy, for it rests on a rationale that is explicitly indicated by the Lawgiver: the original cases are described as fāsiq (vicious). Whenever that description applies to another creature, the analogy is complete, and the ruling revolves with its cause, existing when the cause exists and lapsing when it is absent.

As for enumerating the five—although the harm they cause is of one kind—it is so that the Lawgiver may draw our attention to the various forms and specific instances of harm found within each species of these vicious animals and those like them.

Supplement

Animals fall into four categories:

1- Domesticated stock such as cattle, sheep, and chickens. Their slaughter is permissible under all circumstances.

2- Creatures that are not eaten yet cause no harm. Killing them is disliked, and if one does kill them there is no fidyah.

3- Harmful creatures, such as those named in the ḥadith and anything akin to them. It is prescribed to kill them whether one is in the ḥill, in a state of iḥrām, or within the ḥaram, and no liability is incurred for doing so.

4- Edible wild game; this is what is termed hunting. Killing such animals within the ḥaram or while in iḥrām entails a compensatory penalty.

Takeaways from the ḥadith

1- It is lawful to kill the animals enumerated in the ḥadith both inside and outside the Sacred Precinct.

2- They are killed because of their viciousness and harm; any animal that resembles them is treated the same.

3- Harm is not confined to a single form. Whatever causes injury to life, property, or otherwise constitutes the sort of harm whose perpetrator enjoys no sanctuary. For that reason the Prophet enumerated several species to alert us to the diversity of harm. Allah is All-Wise in His creation and Just in His rulings.