Another Chapter; Signs of Edible and Inedible Birds

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about edible birds and beasts (animals). He (the Imam) said, The Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, prohibited using for food of every bird that has claws and beast that has canine teeth.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘O Sama‘ah, all beasts are inedible; even if it is a beast that does not have canine teeth. The Messenger of Allah has mentioned canine teeth for explanation. Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, and His Messenger prohibited all metamorphosed animals. From the birds on land you can use for food that which has craw, and from the sea birds that which has gizzard like the gizzard of pigeons; not stomach like the stomach of human beings. Every bird which flies straight and has claws is not edible, and so also are the straight fliers like falcons and hawks and al- Hida’ah (a bird that hunts rats) and similar birds that flap their wings in flight and have craws or gizzard which defines every edible bird that cannot be distinguished from its flight and the unknown ones.’”