Evaluation of hadīth narratives related with the animals whose meat is forbidden to eat

Abstract

As in every religious issue, the two main resources of Islām which are the Qur'ān and the Sunnah/hadīths are the first reference sources for deciding the things that are forbidden by Islam. There is no evidence in the Qur'ān that suggests specific types of animals are forbidden to eat except pork. Other than pork, only the animals which are slaughtered without the name of Allah, their blood and their carcass are forbidden to consume. Except these restricted ill-gotten meats, in the Qur'ānic verses there are no other limitations referring to different animals. However, in Hadīth sources there are some narratives referring to the Prophet Muhammad, implying that He named some other forbidden animals beside the ones specified in the Qur'ān. Collecting the narratives and evaluating them as a whole will contribute for a better understanding of the rules and principles of prohibitions that the Prophet Muhammad imposed on this issue. Moreover, it will help to identify whether those rulings on some animals are unconditional and world-wide or cause-related and thus changeable according to the conditions. Furthermore, in this matter, although some animals' meat are not mentioned as forbidden in the Qur'ān, they are banned by the Prophet Muhammad. This brings the need to highlight the importance of the capacity of the Prophet Muhammad on deciding what is permissible (halāl) and forbidden (harām) in the religion.