10/1. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 1720 — Do Not Mix a Stray Animal
Finds
Hadith About Mixing a Stray Animal with Your Animals
Sunan Abi Dawud : 1720
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 1720
حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَوْنٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا خَالِدٌ، عَنْ أَبِي حَيَّانَ التَّيْمِيِّ، عَنِ الْمُنْذِرِ بْنِ جَرِيرٍ، قَالَ كُنْتُ مَعَ جَرِيرٍ بِالْبَوَازِيجِ فَجَاءَ الرَّاعِي بِالْبَقَرِ وَفِيهَا بَقَرَةٌ لَيْسَتْ مِنْهَا فَقَالَ لَهُ جَرِيرٌ مَا هَذِهِ قَالَ لَحِقَتْ بِالْبَقَرِ لاَ نَدْرِي لِمَنْ هِيَ . فَقَالَ جَرِيرٌ أَخْرِجُوهَا فَقَدْ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " لاَ يَأْوِي الضَّالَّةَ إِلاَّ ضَالٌّ " .
Al-Mundhir ibn Jarir Narrated from:
I accompanied Jarir at Bawazij. The shepherd brought the cows. Among them there was a cow that was not one of them. Jarir asked him: What is this? He replied: This was mixed with the cows and we do not know to whom it belongs. Jarir said: Take it out. I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: No one mixes a stray animal (with his animals) but a man who strays from right path.
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 1720In-book reference : Book 10, Hadith 20English translation : Book 9, Hadith 1716
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 1720
This hadith about mixing a stray animal gives a strong warning. Al-Mundhir ibn Jarir said he was with Jarir when the shepherd brought cows. Among them was a cow that was not one of their cows. The shepherd said it had mixed with the herd and they did not know whose it was. Jarir told him to take it out. He then quoted the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم: no one mixes a stray animal with his animals except a person who strays from the right path. The teaching is clear. A stray animal should not be absorbed into one’s own herd as if it belongs there. Mixing it can hide it from its owner and make return harder. The hadith calls for separation, honesty, and respect for the owner’s property.
What we learn from this hadith
- A stray animal should not be mixed into one’s own herd.
- Jarir ordered the unknown cow to be taken out.
- Mixing a stray animal can hide it from its owner.
- The hadith strongly links this behavior with straying from the right path.
