Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, Sa`id bin Jubayr and others commented on Allah's statement;
﴿أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَحْرِ﴾
(Lawful to you is (the pursuit of) water game...) that it means, what one eats fresh
from it, while,
﴿وَطَعَامُهُ﴾
(And its use for food) what is eaten dry and salted. Ibn `Abbas said that `water
game' refers to what is taken from water while still alive, while,
﴿وَطَعَامُهُ﴾
(and its use for food) refers to what the water throws ashore dead. Similar statements
were reported from Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, Zayd bin Thabit, `Abdullah bin `Amr, Abu
Ayyub Al-Ansari, `Ikrimah, Abu Salamah bin `Abdur-Rahman, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and
Al-Hasan Al-Basri. Allah's statement,
﴿مَتَـعاً لَّكُمْ وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ﴾
(for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel,) as food and provision for
you,
﴿وَلِلسَّيَّارَةِ﴾
(and those who travel, ) those who are in the sea and traveling along the sea, according
to `Ikrimah. Other scholars said that water game is allowed for those who fish it
from the sea, as well as, when it is salted and used as food for travelers inland.
A similar statement was reported from Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and As-Suddi and others.
Imam Malik bin Anas recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "Allah's Messenger sent
an army towards the east coast and appointed Abu `Ubaydah bin Al-Jarrah as their
commander, and the army consisted of three hundred men, including myself. We marched
on until we reached a place where our food was about to finish. Abu `Ubaydah ordered
us to collect all the food for our journey, and it was collected in two bags of
dates. Abu `Ubaydah kept on giving us our daily ration in small amounts from it,
until it was exhausted. The share of each of us used to be one date only.'' I (one
of the narrators from Jabir) said, "How could one date suffice for you'' Jabir replied,
"We came to know its value when even that finished.'' Jabir added, "When we reached
the seashore, we saw a huge fish which was like a small mountain. The army ate from
it for eighteen days. Then Abu `Ubaydah ordered that two of its ribs be affixed
in the ground. Then he ordered that a she-camel be ridden, and it passed under the
two ribs (forming an arch) without touching them.'' This Hadith was also collected
in the Two Sahihs. eMalik recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, "A man asked Allah's
Messenger, `O Allah's Messenger! We go to sea and carry little water with us. If
we use it for Wudu', we get thirsty, so should we use seawater for Wudu'' The Messenger
of Allah said,
«هُوَ الطَّهُورُ مَاؤُهُ الْحِلُّ
مَيْتَتُه»
(Its water is pure and its dead are lawful).'' The two Imams, Ash-Shafi`i and Ahmad
bin Hanbal, recorded this Hadith, along with the Four Sunan compilers. Al-Bukhari,
At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban graded it Sahih. This Hadith was also recorded from the
Prophet by several other Companions.
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