Al-Khuttaf the Bird of Black Color, a kind of Crow

بَيْنَا نَحْنُ قُعُودٌ عِنْدَ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع إِذْ مَرَّ رَجُلٌ بِيَدِهِ خُطَّافٌ مَذْبُوحٌ فَوَثَبَ إِلَيْهِ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع حَتَّى أَخَذَهُ مِنْ يَدِهِ ثُمَّ دَحَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ‌[4] فَقَالَ ع أَ عَالِمُكُمْ أَمَرَكُمْ بِهَذَا أَمْ فَقِيهُكُمْ أَخْبَرَنِي أَبِي عَنْ جَدِّي أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ص نَهَى عَنْ قَتْلِ السِّتَّةِ مِنْهَا الْخُطَّافُ وَ قَالَ إِنَّ دَوَرَانَهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَسَفاً لِمَا ف

“As we were sitting with abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), a man passed by with a slaughtered khuttaf in his hand. Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), quickly got up, took it from his hand and threw it away saying, ’Has your scholar or your faqih commanded you to kill it? My father narrated to me from my grandfather that the Messenger of Alla

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص‌ اسْتَوْصُوا بِالصِّنِينَاتِ خَيْراً يَعْنِي الْخُطَّافَ- فَإِنَّهُنَّ آنَسُ طَيْرِ النَّاسِ بِالنَّاسِ ثُمَّ قَالَ وَ تَدْرُونَ مَا تَقُولُ الصِّنِينَةُ إِذَا مَرَّتْ وَ تَرَنَّمَتْ‌[1] تَقُولُ‌ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعالَمِينَ‌ حَتَّى قَرَأَ أُمَّ الْكِتَابِ فَإِذَا كَانَ آخِرُ تَرَنُّمِهَا قَالَتْ‌ وَ لَا الضَّالِّينَ‌ مَدَّ بِهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ص ص

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, recommended to be good to al-Sininat (the crows). They among the birds are the ones that feel comfortable with people and he (the Messenger of Allah) then said, ‘D

سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع عَنْ قَتْلِ الْخُطَّافِ أَوْ إِيذَائِهِنَّ فِي الْحَرَمِ فَقَالَ لَا يُقْتَلْنَ فَإِنِّي كُنْتُ مَعَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ ع فَرَآنِي وَ أَنَا أُوذِيهِنَّ فَقَالَ لِي يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تَقْتُلْهُنَّ وَ لَا تُؤْذِهِنَّ فَإِنَّهُنَّ لَا يُؤْذِينَ شَيْئاً.

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about killing crows and disquieting them in al-Haram (the sacred area). He (the Imam) said, ‘You must not kill them. I was with Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), and he saw me troubling them. He (the Imam) said to me, ‘Do not kill them or trouble them; they do not trouble anything.’”