The Quran

Preface

يَسأَلونَكَ ماذا أُحِلَّ لَهُم ۖ قُل أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّباتُ ۙ وَما عَلَّمتُم مِنَ الجَوارِحِ مُكَلِّبينَ تُعَلِّمونَهُنَّ مِمّا عَلَّمَكُمُ اللَّهُ ۖ فَكُلوا مِمّا أَمسَكنَ عَلَيكُم وَاذكُرُوا اسمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيهِ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَريعُ الحِسابِ

Yusuf Ali

They ask thee what is lawful to them (as food).¹ Say: lawful unto you are (all) things good and pure: and what ye have taught your trained hunting animals (to catch) in the manner directed to you by God. eat what they catch for you,² but pronounce the name of God over it: and fear God. for God is swift in taking account.

The previous verse was negative: it denned what was not lawful for food, viz., things gross, or disgusting, or dedicated to superstition. This verse is positive: it defines what lawful, viz., all things are good and pure.
In the matter of the killing for meat, the general rule is that the name of God, the true God should be pronounced as a rite in order to call our attention to the fact that we do not take life thoughtlessly but solemnly for food, with the permission of God, to whom we render the life back. The question of hunting is then raised. How can this solemn rite be performed when we send forth trained hawks, trained hounds, or trained cheetahs or other animals trained for the chase? They must necessarily kill at some distance from their masters. Their game is legalised on these conditions: (1) that they are trained to kill, not merely for their own appetite, or out of mere wantonness, but for their master’s food; the training implies that something of the solemnity which God has taught us in this matter goes into their action; and (2) we are to pronounce the name of God over the quarry; this is interpreted to mean that the Takbir should be pronounced when the hawk or dog, etc., is released to the quarry. (R).