1712 - Issue; He said: (And if he shoots a prey, and severs a limb from it, he shall not eat what he severed from it, but he may eat the rest of it, according to one of the two narrations; and according to the other, he may eat it and what he severed from it.)

The summary of this is that if he shoots a prey, or strikes it, and some of it becomes severed, it is not devoid of three situations: The first is that he cuts it into two pieces, or cuts off its head; this is all lawful, whether the two pieces are equal or unequal. This is the view of al-Shafi'i, and it has been narrated from Ikrimah, al-Nakha'i, and Qatadah. Abu Hanifah said: If they are equal, or if the part with the head is smaller, both are lawful. If the other [part] is smaller, it is not lawful, but the head and what is with it are lawful; because the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "What is severed from a living being is dead [i.e., carrion]." Our position is that it is a part with which life cannot remain, so it is permitted, as if the two pieces were equal.

The second situation: A limb is severed from it, while stable life remains in it. The severed part is forbidden in any case, whether the animal remains alive, or he catches up to it and slaughters it ritually (dhakkah), or he shoots it with another arrow and kills it. However, if he slaughters it ritually, it becomes lawful in its entirety, except for what he severed from it. If he strikes it in a place other than its throat and kills it, you must look: if he did not incapacitate it with the first strike, it becomes lawful, excluding what he severed from it; but if he did incapacitate it, none of it becomes lawful, because the ritual slaughter (dhakah) of an animal that is within one's power is in the throat and the base of the neck.

The third situation: He severs a limb from it, and no stable life remains in it. This is what al-Khiraqi mentioned as having two narrations; the most famous of which, according to Ahmad, is their permissibility. Ahmad said: The hadith of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), "What you cut from a living being is carrion," refers to when it is cut while it is alive, walking and moving. But if the severing and the death occur together, or shortly after, while it is in the throes of death, there is no harm in it. Do you not see that when an animal is slaughtered, it may remain for a while, and it may walk until it dies! This is the view of al-Shafi'i, and it has been narrated from Ali, Ata', and al-Hasan. Qatadah, Ibrahim, and Ikrimah said: If they occur together, he may eat both; but if it walked after the cutting of the limb, he may eat it, but not the limb. The second narration is that what he severed from it is not permitted. This is the view of Abu Hanifah, due to the saying of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "What is severed from a living being is dead."