its prohibition. As for the crocodile, reports have been conveyed regarding it that indicate it is not to be eaten. Al-Awza'i said: There is no harm in it for someone who desires it. Ibn Hamid said: Neither the crocodile nor the sawfish (kawsaj) (13) is to be eaten, because they both consume humans. It has been narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i or someone else (14) that he said: They used to dislike the predatory animals of the sea, just as they dislike the predatory animals of the land. This is due to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) prohibition regarding every beast of prey that possesses fangs. Abu 'Ali al-Najjad said: That which is prohibited as its counterpart on land is prohibited in the sea, such as the sea dog (seal), the sea pig (porpoise), and the sea human. This is the opinion of al-Layth, except (15) regarding the sea dog, for he considers the dog of the land and sea to be permissible. Abu Hanifah said: Nothing is permissible except fish. Malik said: Everything in the sea is permissible, due to the generality of the statement of Allah Almighty: {Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food}.
Section: The sea dog is permissible. Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) rode a saddle upon which was leather made from the skins of sea dogs. This is the opinion of Malik, al-Shafi'i, and al-Layth. It is also required by the opinion of al-Sha'bi and al-Awza'i. It is not permissible according to Abu Hanifah, and this is the opinion of Abu 'Ali al-Najjad and some of the companions of al-Shafi'i. Our evidence is the generality of the verse and the report. 'Abd Allah said: I asked my father about the sea dog, and he said: Yahya ibn Sa'id narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from 'Amr ibn Dinar and Abu al-Zubayr, that they heard Shurayh, a man (16) who met the Prophet (peace be upon him), saying: Everything in the sea is slaughtered. He said: So I mentioned that to 'Ata', and he said: As for the bird, we slaughter it. And Abu 'Abd Allah said: We slaughter the sea dog.
Section: It was said to Abu 'Abd Allah: Is the eel (jirri) (17) disliked? He said: No, by Allah, how could we have any objection to the eel? 'Ali, al-Hasan, Malik, al-Shafi'i, Abu Thawr, the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y), and the rest of
= Chapter on what is forbidden to kill, from the Book of Hunting. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/1074. And al-Darimi, in: Chapter on the prohibition of killing frogs..., from the Book of Sacrifices. Sunan al-Darimi 2/88. And Imam Ahmad, in: al-Musnad 3/453. (13) The Kawsaj: A fish whose snout is like a saw. (14) In [M]: "or someone else". (15) Omitted from: [M]. (16) In [B] and [M]: "a man". (17) Al-Jirri, like dimmi: A type of fish.
