Question:
Salaams! I have kittens that I’m not aloud to sell, and I don’t want to keep them.Is it allowed to free them in the bush even if I have had them for 6 months?
Answer:
Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuHu,
The great scholar and authority of the late Shafi School, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, discussed details pertaining to cats in al-Fatawa al-Kubra al-Fiqhiyyah vol. 4, pg. 240-41.
It is recommended to train cats, and it is obligatory for one who owns a cat to feed it. This is in the instance that the cat cannot sustain itself, from hunting, etc.
There is a hadith that a woman was sent to Hell because she had a cat under her care that passed away; she neither gave it food nor allowed it to roam and fend for itself. (Sahih al-Bukhari 2/151 ) Her malicious actions lead the cat’s destruction. Perhaps, for that very reason she was sent to Hell to be punished. In light of the hadith, killing a cat is a major sin [kabirah].
If one anticipates that the cat would perish if freed, then he should take care of it or give it away. The sale of a domesticated cat is valid. Therefore, one would also have the option to sell it.
And Allah knows best.
Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Dept.