41/4. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 4235 — Benefit from the Sheep's Hide
The Skin Of Dead Animals (Those Not Slaughtered Or Killed Properly)
The Dead Sheep's Hide Could Still Be Used
Sunan an-Nasai : 4235
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 4235
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، وَالْحَارِثُ بْنُ مِسْكِينٍ، قِرَاءَةً عَلَيْهِ وَأَنَا أَسْمَعُ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - عَنِ ابْنِ الْقَاسِمِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مَالِكٌ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ مَرَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِشَاةٍ مَيِّتَةٍ كَانَ أَعْطَاهَا مَوْلاَةً لِمَيْمُونَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ " هَلاَّ انْتَفَعْتُمْ بِجِلْدِهَا " . قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّهَا مَيْتَةٌ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّمَا حُرِّمَ أَكْلُهَا " .
Ibn 'Abbas Narrated from:
The Messenger of Allah passed by a dead sheep that he had given to a freed slave woman of Maimunah, the wife of the Prophet. He said: 'Why don't you make use of its hide?' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, it is dead meat.' The Messenger of Allah said: 'It is only forbidden to eat it.
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 4235In-book reference : Book 41, Hadith 14English translation : Vol. 5, Book 41, Hadith 4240
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 4235
This narration reports that the Messenger of Allah passed by a dead sheep that had been given to a freed slave woman of Maimunah. He asked why they did not make use of its hide. They answered that it was dead meat. The Prophet then clarified that only eating it had been forbidden. The hadith separates the ruling about the meat from the possible use of the skin. A dead animal could not be eaten, but its hide did not have to be discarded without benefit. The text does not describe every step needed to prepare the hide, so the explanation should not add a method that is absent here. Its direct message is about avoiding waste while respecting the stated prohibition on eating.
What we learn from this hadith
- The dead sheep's meat was not to be eaten.
- Its hide could still provide a useful benefit.
- The Prophet corrected the idea that the whole animal had to be discarded.
- The report encourages using what remains beneficial without ignoring the food prohibition.
