Jaza' al-sayd (penalty / expiation for killing land game while in ihram)
Jazā' al-Ṣayd
Overview
Jaza' al-sayd is the penalty for hunting or killing land game while in ihram: either a matching domestic animal, feeding the poor, or fasting. It is a penalty incurred for a violation, not a rite that is performed.
Qur'an
PRIMARY — Surah Al-Ma'idah:'يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلصَّيْدَ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌۭ ۚ وَمَن قَتَلَهُۥ مِنكُم مُّتَعَمِّدًۭا فَجَزَآءٌۭ مِّثْلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ ٱلنَّعَمِ يَحْكُمُ بِهِۦ ذَوَا عَدْلٍۢ مِّنكُمْ هَدْيًۢا بَـٰلِغَ ٱلْكَعْبَةِ أَوْ كَفَّـٰرَةٌۭ طَعَامُ مَسَـٰكِينَ أَوْ عَدْلُ ذَٰلِكَ صِيَامًۭا لِّيَذُوقَ وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِۦ ۗ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَمَّا سَلَفَ ۚ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَيَنتَقِمُ ٱللَّهُ مِنْهُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌۭ ذُو ٱنتِقَامٍ'— 'O believers! Do not kill game while on pilgrimage (in ihram). Whoever kills game intentionally must compensate by offering its equivalent from livestock — as judged by two just men among you — to be brought to the Ka'bah, or by feeding the needy, or by fasting, so that they may taste the consequences of their violation. Allah has forgiven what has passed. But whoever repeats, Allah will take retribution from him. And Allah is Almighty, Owner of Retribution.' SUPPORTING — Al-Ma'idah:'أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ ٱلْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُۥ...وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَيْدُ ٱلْبَرِّ مَا دُمْتُمْ حُرُمًا'— 'Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food... but forbidden to you is the game of the land as long as you are in ihram.' This exception permits fishing/sea-game even while in ihram and confines the prohibition (and hence the jaza) to land game.
'يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَقْتُلُوا۟ ٱلصَّيْدَ وَأَنتُمْ حُرُمٌۭ ۚ وَمَن قَتَلَهُۥ مِنكُم مُّتَعَمِّدًۭا فَجَزَآءٌۭ مِّثْلُ مَا قَتَلَ مِنَ ٱلنَّعَمِ يَحْكُمُ بِهِۦ ذَوَا عَدْلٍۢ مِّنكُمْ هَدْيًۢا بَـٰلِغَ ٱلْكَعْبَةِ أَوْ كَفَّـٰرَةٌۭ طَعَامُ مَسَـٰكِينَ أَوْ عَدْلُ ذَٰلِكَ صِيَامًۭا لِّيَذُوقَ وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِۦ ۗ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَمَّا سَلَفَ ۚ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَيَنتَقِمُ ٱللَّهُ مِنْهُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌۭ ذُو ٱنتِقَامٍ'References · Qur'an 5:95 · Qur'an 5:96
Hadith
- •as-Sa'b ibn Jaththamah al-Laythi (RA) — and: as-Sa'b presented a wild ass (or its meat/leg) to the Prophet (ﷺ) at al-Abwa' or Waddan, and he returned it, saying:'إِنَّا لَمْ نَرُدَّهُ عَلَيْكَ إِلَّا أَنَّا حُرُمٌ'— 'We only returned it to you because we are in ihram.' Establishes that a muhrim may not accept/eat game hunted for him.References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1825 · Sahih Muslim 1193Grade · Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (as-Sa'b ibn Jaththamah (RA))
- •Abu Qatadah (RA) — and: Abu Qatadah (RA), not in ihram, hunted a wild ass while his companions were in ihram; the Prophet (ﷺ) said,'هَلْ مَعَكُمْ مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ...كُلُوا' — 'Do you have any of its meat with you?... Eat it,' i.e. those in ihram may eat game a non-muhrim hunted on his own initiative (not for them).References · Sahih al-Bukhari 1821 · Sahih Muslim 1196Grade · Sahih al-Bukhari 1821: Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (Abu Qatadah's (RA) wild-ass), Sahih Muslim 1196: Sahih — muttafaq 'alayh (Abu Qatadah's (RA) wild-ass). Separately, the hyena-is-game hadith (a ram is due for it) is graded hasan sahih by al-Tirmidhi but its grade is somewhat contested.
- •The Companions' judgments applying 5:95 — e.g. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) consulting 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (RA) over a gazelle, and the schedule of equivalents (ostrich -> camel, wild cow/deer -> cow, gazelle -> sheep, hyena -> ram). The Bukhari chapter is 'Kitab Jaza' al-Sayd' (Book of the Penalty for Hunting while on Pilgrimage)Grade · Athar (mawquf) — Companion judgments applying the ayah, cited as the applied precedent for the schedule of equivalents, not as marfu' evidence from the Prophet (ﷺ).
For Umrah
Applies to 'Umrah unchanged: the prohibition on hunting land game attaches to the state of ihram itself, so it binds an 'Umrah pilgrim from the miqat until the tahallul, with the same compensation (a like animal judged by two just persons, or feeding the poor, or fasting) laid down in Q 5:95.
Applies to
Tied to the state of ihram, not to a specific Hajj type — it applies identically in Tamattu', Qiran, and Ifrad, and also in 'Umrah. Anyone in ihram (for Hajj or 'Umrah) who kills land game owes this same penalty; there is no count difference among the Hajj types.
If missed
Killing land game does not invalidate the Hajj or 'Umrah, and the ihram remains intact. What is incurred is the jaza (kaffarah), which becomes a due obligation (a debt) discharged by one of the three options in 5:95. Deliberate hunting is also sinful, and the Qur'an threatens the repeat offender with Allah's (سبحانه وتعالى) retribution ('wa man 'ada fa-yantaqimu Allahu minhu'). Failing to discharge the owed penalty leaves an outstanding obligation; it does not spoil the pilgrimage itself.
Timing & place
The prohibition is in force for the entire duration of ihram — from entering ihram (niyyah + talbiyah at the miqat) until exiting it (via halq/taqsir and tawaf). The penalty becomes due the moment the game is killed, and may be discharged then or thereafter; there is no fixed calendar window (unlike the days of nahr for the hady). Note the separate, permanent rule: the game and vegetation of the sacred territory (Haram of Makkah, and of Madinah) are prohibited for everyone at all times, whether in ihram or not — that is a distinct prohibition from the ihram-state jaza addressed here.
The offer/kaffarah is directed to the Haram of Makkah: the equivalent animal is a 'hady reaching the Ka'bah' (hadyan baligha al-Ka'bah, 5:95), slaughtered in the Haram with the meat given to its poor; the feeding option is likewise for the poor (majority tie it to the Haram's poor). The fasting option may be performed anywhere. The prohibition on hunting itself applies wherever the muhrim is, not only inside the Haram — a pilgrim in ihram may not hunt even in open land far from Makkah.
Common mistakes
- •Believing only intentional killing is penalized — the majority hold accidental/forgetful killing also incurs the jaza (though without sin).
- •Confusing land game (haram, penalized) with sea/water game (halal even in ihram, per 5:96).
- •Thinking the harmful 'fawasiq' animals incur a penalty — killing the crow, kite, scorpion, mouse/rat, biting dog (and snakes) is permitted in ihram/the Haram without penalty.
- •Confusing the ihram-state jaza with the permanent prohibition on the game of the Makkan/Madinan Haram (which binds even non-pilgrims).
- •Thinking slaughtering a domestic animal for food (chicken, sheep) is 'hunting' — sayd means wild game only; slaughtering livestock is permitted.
- •A muhrim eating game that a non-muhrim hunted specifically for him or at his direction (prohibited); it is only permitted if the non-muhrim hunted it on his own initiative.
Across the madhabs
The schools diverge on two points. (a) How the 'equivalent' (mithl) is fixed: Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali determine it by physical resemblance to a livestock animal (na'am) — following the Companions' schedule (ostrich -> camel/badanah; wild cow & deer -> cow; gazelle -> sheep; hyena -> ram; rabbit -> a young four-month kid; jerboa -> a young goat) — and only where no resemblance exists do they fall back to monetary value. The Hanafi school (Abu Hanifa) determines it by monetary value (qimah): two just persons appraise the game's price where/when it was killed, and the offender uses that value to buy a hady, or buy food for the poor (half a sa' each), or fast a day per half-sa'. (b) Whether the penalty is owed for accidental / forgetful killing: the majority (all four schools) hold it is owed whether the killing was deliberate, mistaken, or forgetful — treating jaza as a compensation (daman); Dawud al-Zahiri (and a view of Ibn Sirin (RH) / al-Zuhri's (RH) reading of the Qur'an) restrict the Qur'anic penalty to deliberate killing only. In all cases the intentional killer additionally sins, whereas the accidental killer owes the penalty without sin.
Notes
The clause 'wa man 'ada fa-yantaqimu Allahu minhu' (whoever repeats, Allah will take retribution) — the majority (Shafi'i, Hanbali) still require the jaza on each repeated offense in addition to the standing threat, while some early scholars held the repeat offender owes nothing further but faces Allah's (سبحانه وتعالى) retribution. The 'mithl' equivalents (ostrich -> badanah camel; wild cow & deer -> cow; gazelle -> sheep; hyena -> ram; rabbit -> a four-month kid ('anaq); jerboa -> a young goat) come from Companions' judgments (athar of 'Umar (RA), 'Ali (RA), Ibn 'Abbas (RA), Ibn 'Umar (RA)) applying 5:95. Q 5:96 explicitly permits sea-game (fishing) in ihram. Killing the harmful 'fawasiq' in ihram/the Haram without penalty is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim (narrated 'Aishah (RA) and Ibn 'Umar (RA)) — the five named are the crow, the kite, the scorpion, the mouse/rat, and the biting (rabid) dog, with snakes added by analogy.