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69,23715/09/2002

Wearing or sitting on skins of wild animals

Question: 9022

It states in Al-Bukhari that you cannot wear leopard style clothing. As I was not aware of this fact before I have therefore many leopard style clothing in my wardrobe. I am not intending to buy anymore clothes of this sort, but I was wondering as I have it now, can I make use of it only at home when there's no men around? Or is it not allowed to be worn even if it's at home?.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Perhaps the questioner is referring to the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhari (5175) from al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him) which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade al-mayaathir. 

Al-mayaathir was a kind of blanket that they used to put on the saddle of the horse, which was made of silk. And some of the scholars interpreted it as referring to the skins of wild animals. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Or it may be understood as referring to a stuffed cushion made of animal skin."(Fath al-Baari, 10/293)

It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade wearing the skins of wild animals or sitting on them. 

It was narrated that al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’diyakrib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbidding the wearing of animal skins or riding on saddles made from them.     

Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4131; classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 3479. 

Al-Tirmidhi (1771) and al-Nasaa’i (4253) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade using animal skins as furnishings. Classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1450. 

It was narrated from Mu’aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade tiger skins.  

Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4239; vclassed as saheeh by al-Albani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 3566. 

It was narrated from Mu’aawiyah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The angels do not accompany a group of people among whom there is a tiger skin.” 

Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4130; classed as hasan by al-Albani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 3478. 

Al-Mubaarakfoori said in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 

The ahadith indicate that it is not permissible to make use of animal skins. 

The reasons why it is forbidden to make use of them are: 

1 – That involves arrogance and showing off, because it is an imitation of tyrants, and because such things are the adornment of those who live luxurious and extravagant lives. 

See Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, and Haashiyat al-Sindi ‘ala Ibn Maajah.  

We may add another reason to that, which is that they are naajis (impure), because tanning does not make any skin pure except the skin of an animal that we are permitted to eat. Whatever we are not permitted to eat, its skin cannot be made pure by tanning. This is the view of al-Awzaa’i, ‘Abd-Allah ibn al-Mubaarak and Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh, and it was narrated from Imam Ahmad. See Sharh Saheeh Muslim by al-Nawawi, 4/54; al-Furoo’ by Ibn Muflih, 1/102 

This was also the view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him), according to one of his two opinions. Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 21/95. This view was also favoured by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him); al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 1/74. 

If it is haram to use these skins, it make no difference whether they are worn inside the house or outside, The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us that the angels do not accompany a group of people among whom there is a tiger skin, as stated above. 

It says in ‘Awn al-Ma’bood: 

The hadeeth indicates that it is makrooh to use tiger skins or to take them along on a journey or to bring them into the house, because the fact that the angels do not accompany a group of people among whom there is a tiger skin indicates that the angels do not join a group or enter a house where that thing is present. That can only be because it is not permissible to use it, as it was narrated that the angels do not enter a house in which there are images or pictures. That is taken as evidence that images are haram and that putting them in houses is haram. 

This applies if the clothes mentioned in the question are made from real tiger skins. With regard to synthetic skins whose colours resemble the colours of animal skins, it is better for him to avoid them so that he will not be accused by someone who does not know what they really are of wearing animal skins which it is haram to wear. 

And Allah knows best.

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