﴿ لَيْسَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ جُنَاحٌۭ فِيمَا طَعِمُوٓا۟ إِذَا مَا ٱتَّقَوا۟ وَّءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ ثُمَّ ٱتَّقَوا۟ وَّءَامَنُوا۟ ثُمَّ ٱتَّقَوا۟ وَّأَحْسَنُوا۟ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴾

“Those who have attained to faith and do righteous deeds incur no sin by partaking of whatever they may, so long as they are conscious of God and [truly] believe and do righteous deeds, and continue to be conscious of God and to believe, and grow ever more conscious of God, and persevere in doing good: for God loves the doers of good.”

During Hajj or ‘umrah (the pilgrimage to the Ka‘bah) it is the rule that before reaching the Ka‘bah, people are required to put on ahram (specified dress) at and from some specified places (miqat). Thereafter, on the journey towards the Ka‘bah, pilgrims come across many birds and animals which they could easily hunt, but this has been declared haram (forbidden). Hunting personally, or through others, is prohibited in these conditions. According to tradition, this verse was revealed during the Hudaybiyyah journey, when the Muslims were clad in ihram with the intention of performing ‘umrah. At that time, many birds and animals were roaming about so close that they could have been easily hunted down with arrows or spears. The Muslims wanted to hunt, as they normally did, to meet their requirements. But they immediately stopped on receiving this order. This order, which is applicable under ihram, has to be followed by the common man in day-to-day life.