Is it permissible to raise and sell birds? I keep a canary in a cage. I mate birds. I earn money by selling birds.

Dear Brother / Sister,

God Almighty has put all creatures under the command of man. Every being created by Allah in the universe serves man either directly or indirectly. What man needs to do is to make use of those beings within the limits set by his Creator.

Since man was created as the vicegerent on the earth, he was authorized to make use of other beings. He takes and eats the fruits of plants and trees when he needs them; he also benefits from the bounties of animals such as meat, milk, wool and leather. He even makes use of domesticated animals for other purposes. He uses cats as guards of the house against harmful insects and dogs as guards of the herds against thieves and wild animals.

While some birds are hunted and eaten in the season, others color human life with their sounds and ornaments. The sounds and images of birds such as nightingales and canaries give pleasure to people.
Due to this closeness of animals to human life, the names of many chapters in the Quran have the names of animals: chapters of al-Baqara (cow), al-An'am (livestock), an-Nahl (bee), al-Ankabut (spider), al-Fil (elephant) an-Naml (ant)...

The following verses clearly indicate that people benefit from animals:

“And cattle He has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat. And ye have a sense of pride and beauty in them as ye drive them home in the evening, and as ye lead them forth to pasture in the morning… And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride and use for show; and He has created (other) things of which ye have no knowledge”1

As it is seen, animals have been put at the disposal of humans; animals have also been given the quality of being a mount, food, and an ornament to entertain man and become familiar with.

In the light of the explanations above, there is no harm in keeping birds such as nightingales, budgerigars and canaries in cages and keeping them as ornaments at home. However, it is not permissible to harm and oppress animals because it is a requirement of our religion not to torture living beings, and to show mercy and compassion to them. Keeping birds that are accustomed to living in cages is not regarded oppression of animals.

As a matter of fact, we come across an incident regarding the issue in the Age of Bliss:

The Prophet (pbuh) occasionally went to the house of the mother of Anas bin Malik, who was in the service of the Prophet (pbuh). Umayr, the younger brother of Anas, had a bird. The Prophet (pbuh) would ask him, “What happened to your birdie?” in order to please him. 2

We understand from the incident above that if it were not permissible to keep a bird in a cage, the Prophet (pbuh) would have ordered it to be released and forbidden doing it.

However, it should not be forgotten that it is necessary not to torture any living being, including birds, and to spend the most valuable capital called life with more serious and useful deeds such as learning and teaching the realities of belief and meditating, and to avoid unnecessary things that would harm those realities. In addition, it is regarded permissible to buy and sell all animals except pigs. 3

footnotes:

1. an-Nahl, 5-6-8.
2. Ibn Majah, Adab: 24.
3. al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, 3: 114.

(Mehmed Paksu, Helal – Haram)

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