Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr reported that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once passed by some young men of the Quraysh who had tied a bird and made it a target at which they were shooting arrows. Every arrow that they missed became the possession of the owner of the bird. When they saw Ibn ‘Umar, they dispersed. Thereupon, Ibn ‘Umar said: "Who has done this? May Allah curse whoever has done this. Verily, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) invoked curse upon whoever makes any living creature a target (of his marksmanship, archery, etc.)"
GradingAuthentic hadith
AttributionNarrated by Muslim
Explanation
Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr (may Allah have mercy upon him) reported that ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) once passed by some young men of the Quraysh tribe who had tied a bird and made it a target at which they were shooting arrows to see who is more skilled at archery. When they saw Ibn ‘Umar coming, they dispersed and ran away from him. He inquired about what was going on, and when the people told him, he said: "May Allah curse whoever has done this," and he mentioned that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) invoked the curse of Allah upon whoever takes any living creature as a target to shoot at. That is because such action makes the bird suffer pain as one hits its wing, another hits its chest, and a third hits its back or head, and so on. Thus, the bird suffers without dying, while it is possible to slaughter it at the neck in the lawful manner which kills it instantly without making it suffer. That is why the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) invoked curse upon whoever makes any living creature a target of shooting.