Eating crow: the proofs of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi’s fatwa

Question

Question: What is the ruling on eating crow? The crow about which Qutb al-‘Alam Hazrat Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi ﵀ wrote that it is halal — is it the same crow that is found in our area? The people of bid‘a and mischief-making scholars sling mud, claiming that calling the crow halal is merely an innovation of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad, and that in the Shari‘a eating crow is haram; how far is this correct? On what proofs is the fatwa of Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi ﵋, the great muhaddith of India, based?

Answer

The noble jurists have written that the crow is of several kinds. One kind is that whose food is only filth and carrion. The second kind is that whose food is only grain and corn, and it does not eat filth and carrion at all. The third kind is that which eats both things: it eats filth and carrion, and also grain and corn. The first kind is prohibited.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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