Do I have to kill snakes if they are not harming me?

· 12 Ramadan 1441 AH1 min readFatwa 44811English
Jurisprudence and Rulings (Fiqh)

Question

Is it true that you need to kill snakes? So for exemple i am walking in Morocco and i see a snake and he doesnt do anything to me, he is not harming me, do i need to kill him?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

In the Arabic language, commands come for various motives, sometimes to show something is wājib, other times to show it is recommended or permissible. According to the fuqahā’ (jurists), it is merely mubāḥ (permissible) to kill snakes. They have stated that the command of the Messenger of Allāh in the ḥadīth to kill snakes is to show it is permissible to kill snakes, not that it is necessary.[1]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Abrar Habib

Student - Darul Iftaa

New York City, New York, USA

Checked and Approved by,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

11-09-1441|03-05-2020

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

[1] النهر الفائق شرح كنز الدقائق (1/ 285)

(لا) يكره (قتل الحية والعقرب) لخبر الشيخين (اقتلوا الأسودين في الصلاة الحية والعقرب) وأدنى مراتب الأمر الإباحة

مجمع الأنهر في شرح ملتقى الأبحر (1/ 126)

قوله - عليه الصلاة والسلام - «اقتلوا الأسودين أي العقرب والحية» ولا يخفى أنه يدل على إباحة قتل الجنية وغيرها

الجامع الصغير وشرحه النافع الكبير (ص: 100)

قوله لا بأس لحديث اقتلوا الأسودين ولو كنتم في الصلاة والمراد الحية والعقرب فدل الحديث على إباحة قتل الحيات كلها

Answered by
Abrar Habib
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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