72/8. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 5485 — Finding Game After an Arrow Shot
If the hunter hits a game but does not catch it till two or three days
Hadith About Hunting With an Arrow: Game Found Later
Sahih Bukhari : 5485
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 5485
وَقَالَ عَبْدُ الأَعْلَى عَنْ دَاوُدَ، عَنْ عَامِرٍ، عَنْ عَدِيٍّ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، يَرْمِي الصَّيْدَ فَيَقْتَفِرُ أَثَرَهُ الْيَوْمَيْنِ وَالثَّلاَثَةَ، ثُمَّ يَجِدُهُ مَيِّتًا وَفِيهِ سَهْمُهُ قَالَ " يَأْكُلُ إِنْ شَاءَ ".
`Adi bin Hatim Narrated from:
And it has also been narrated by `Adi bin Hatim that he asked the Prophet (ﷺ) "If a hunter throws an arrow at the game and after tracing it for two or three days he finds it dead but still bearing his arrow, (can he eat of it)?" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "He can eat if he wishes."
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 5485In-book reference : Book 72, Hadith 11USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 7, Book 67, Hadith 393
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 5485
This hadith about hunting with an arrow deals with a real hunting situation. Adi bin Hatim asks about a hunter who shoots game, follows its track for two or three days, and then finds it dead with his arrow still in it. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replies that he may eat it if he wishes. The wording is narrow and should be kept that way. It speaks about the arrow still being found in the animal after the hunter traced it. It does not discuss every possible cause of death, nor every hunting tool. For someone searching for arrow hunting hadith or game found dead after hunting, this narration gives a simple answer tied to the sign of the hunter’s own arrow.
What we learn from this hadith
- The question is about game found after tracking it for two or three days.
- The animal is described as still bearing the hunter’s arrow.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم allowed eating it if the hunter wished.
- The lesson is to pay attention to the clear sign of how the game was struck.
