603 - Issue: He said: "And likewise its trees and plants, except for the idhkhir (rush) and what is planted by humans."

Scholars have reached a consensus on the prohibition of cutting the trees of the Sanctuary and the permissibility of taking the idhkhir and what is planted by humans, such as vegetables, crops, and aromatic herbs. Ibn al-Mundhir related this, and the basis for it is what we have narrated from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas. Abu Shurayh and Abu Hurayrah narrated something similar to the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, and all of them are agreed upon (1). In the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: "Beware! It is currently sacred in this hour of mine; its thorns are not to be plucked, and its trees are not to be cut." In the hadith of Abu Shurayh, he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) on the day of the Conquest say: "Indeed, Allah has made Makkah a Sanctuary; people did not make it a Sanctuary. It is not permissible for anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day to shed blood therein, nor to cut any tree therein." Al-Athram narrated the hadith of Abu Hurayrah in his Sunan, in which it is stated: "Its trees are not to be cut, its grass is not to be harvested, and its game is not to be hunted." As for the trees planted by humans, Abu al-Khattab and Ibn 'Aqil stated: It is permissible for him to uproot them without liability, like crops. The Qadi said: That which grew outside the Sanctuary and was then planted within the Sanctuary has no penalty; but that whose root grew within the Sanctuary, there is a penalty for it in all cases. Al-Shafi'i said: There is a penalty for the trees of the Sanctuary.