Hadith 18691

Yahya related to me from Malik that the best of what he had heardabout a man who is forced by necessity to eat carrion is that he ateit until he was full and then he took provision from it. If he foundsomething which would enable him to dispense with it, he threw itaway.Malik when asked whether or not a man who had beenforced by necessity to eat carrion, should eat it when he also foundthe fruit, crops or sheep of a people in that place, answered, "If hethinks that the owners of the fruit, crops, or sheep will believe hisnecessity so that he will not be deemed a thief and have his hand cutoff, then I think that he should eat from whatever he finds that whichwill remove his hunger but he should not carry any of it away. Iprefer that he does that than that he eat carrion. If he fears that hewill not be believed, and will be deemed a thief for what he hastaken, then I think that it is better for him to eat the carrion, andhe has leeway to eat carrion in this respect. Even so, I fear thatsomeone who is not forced by necessity to eat carrion might exceed thelimits out of a desire to consume other peoples' property, crops orfruit."Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard."