There are legal rulings and etiquettes that the one who is in his state of Ihraam must observe until his acts of worship are completed in the most perfect manner according to the will of Allah, The Mighty and Majestic. One of these legal provisions is the prohibition of hunting wild game while in the state of Ihraam; as Allah, The Almighty says: {O you who have believed, do not kill game while you are in the state of Ihraam} [Quan 5:95] In this hadeeth, ‘Abdullah ibn Abee Qataadah narrates that his father, AbooQadaadah al-Haarith ibn Rabee‘ee al-Ansaaree (ra) had set out with the Prophet ﷺand his Companions (ras) during the year of al-Hudaybiyyah, which was in the sixth year after Hijrah when they had intended to perform ‘Umrah. Al-Hudaybiyyah is a large village near Makkah, that borders the city. It was named after a well that was there before, and now there is a valley between it and Makkah about twenty-two kilometres on the way to Jeddah. When news reached the Messenger of Allah ﷺthat an enemy from among the polytheists was intending to attack him ﷺ, The Prophet ﷺ sent AbooQataadah (ra) with a group of his companions (ras) so that he could gather information concerning this enemy. The Companions (ras) in this group were in the state of ihraam for ‘the Umrah, whereas AbooQataadah was not because they were anticipating an ambush, so he feared that he might have to fight and, if he was in this sanctified state, it would have prevented him from doing that [combat] to some extent. While he (ra) was among his companions, he saw them laughing amongst themselves; then after he looked up and saw an onager. Rather, their laughter was out of astonishment that he would rise up and hunt in their midst, despite not being exposed to it directly. Nor was their laughter an indication from them to urge AbooQataadah to hunt. So, when AbooQataadah (ra) caught sight of it, he rode his horse in pursuit of this game. He (ra) sought help from his companions with some of his matters related to the hunt, but they refused to help him because they knew that it was not permissible to hunt while in the state of ihraam. Then, AbooQataadah reported that he pounced on the onager; then proceeded to stab it, and caused it to lie in its place, motionless. He requested of them to help him carry and transport the onager, but they refused. Then, however, they took part in eating from it; and after they ate, they had doubts on the permissibility of eating from it because: they were in the state of Ihraam for Hajj and doubted whether or not they had indirectly partaken in the hunting. So, they asked the Prophet ﷺabout the legal ruling of eating from it. His statement in the narration: “We feared that we would be cut off” means: ‘We will be cut off and separated from The Prophet ﷺ because he ﷺ had left before them. AbooQataadah set out to search for The Prophet ﷺ, when he rode his horse in a swift manner at times, and let it proceed along gently at other times. Then he met a man from tribe of Banee al-Ghifaar and proceeded to ask him the whereabouts of The Prophet ﷺ. The man told him that the Prophet ﷺ was at Ta‘han, which is a water spring about three miles from al-Suqyaa on the path to Makkah. After, he related that he ﷺ had intention to take a siesta at a place named al-Suqyaa, which is a connecting suburban town that lies between Makkah and al-Madeenah. So AbooQataadah (ra) met him ﷺthere and informed The Prophet ﷺ that his Companions (ras) had sent their salutations and asked him ﷺ to wait for them so that the enemy would not intercept them and separate them from him ﷺ. Shortly after, he (ra) told the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what had happened with regards to hunting the onager, which is permissible, and not prohibited in any religious rites, and that his companions ate from it with him while they were in the state of Ihraam for pilgrimage. The Prophet ﷺapproved their actions and told him that it was permissible for them to eat from the lawful game and directed those who were present to eat from what AbooQataadah brought along with him. This hadeeth shows the permissibility of eating a wild donkey. And it explains that it is permissible for the pilgrims to eat from game which has been hunted, when the one who hunts, it is permitted to do so [i.e., not be in a state of ihraam], without the pilgrim helping him with anything. It illustrates that we should exhibit kindness and act benevolently with friends and companions while traveling. And lastly, it shows the permissibility of sending salutations and the Islamic greeting of peace to those who are not present..