42/32. Chapter:
Sunan an-Nasai 4343 — Horse Meat and Donkey Meat at Khaibar
Permissibility Of Eating The Flesh Of Onagers (Wild Donkeys)
Is Horse Meat Halal? The Khaibar Hadith on Horses and Donkeys
Sunan an-Nasai : 4343
Sunan an-NasaiHadith Number 4343
أَخْبَرَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الْمُفَضَّلُ، - هُوَ ابْنُ فَضَالَةَ - عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، قَالَ أَكَلْنَا يَوْمَ خَيْبَرَ لُحُومَ الْخَيْلِ وَالْوَحْشِ وَنَهَانَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَنِ الْحِمَارِ .
Jabir Narrated from:
On the Day of Khaibar we ate the flesh of horses, and onagers, but the Prophet forbade us (from eating) donkeys. (sahih)
Reference : Sunan an-Nasa'i 4343In-book reference : Book 42, Hadith 81English translation : Vol. 5, Book 42, Hadith 4348
Summary of Sunan an-Nasai Hadith 4343
This hadith explains an important difference between horse meat, onager meat, and domestic donkey meat. Jabir reported that on the Day of Khaibar they ate the flesh of horses and wild donkeys, while the Prophet forbade them from eating donkeys. In this wording, the final reference to donkeys is understood from the contrast as domesticated donkeys. For readers asking whether horse meat is halal in Islam, the narration records that the companions ate horse meat on that day and were not forbidden from it. It also records that wild game was treated differently from the domestic donkey. The hadith teaches careful reading: similar animal names do not always carry the same food ruling in the text.
What we learn from this hadith
- The companions ate horse meat on the Day of Khaibar.
- They also ate onager, or wild donkey, meat.
- The Prophet forbade the meat of domesticated donkeys.
- The text distinguishes wild game from domestic donkeys.
