Islam commands us to be benevolent towards animals, and our religion has prohibited us from killing them in vain, or without some benefit. At the same time, however, it also protects the interests of the people from harm and damages. In this hadeeth, the Mother of the Believers, ‘Aa’isha (raa), mentions that the Prophet ﷺcalled the desert gecko with a leprous complexion, a fuwaysiq. The desert gecko is a small, crawling reptile that looks similar to a crocodile that climbs up walls; and is known to the general public who speak Arabic as al-burs. The Arabic word, fuwaysiq, is the diminutive form for the Arabic word which connotes the meaning of: ‘a transgressor or immoral person’. It is an exaggerated diminution of something which is contemptible, censured, and noxious. The Prophet ﷺ has designated some creatures as ‘transgressors’ because they go out to people and bring detriment or harm to them, or to other animals; including forms of harm that cannot be avoided. ‘Aa’isha (raa) then reports that she never heard the Prophet ﷺorder for the desert gecko to be killed. There is no pretext for this however, as it is not necessary that just because she did not hear it, that it (i.e., the order) did not happen at all. Others have heard the order issued, as it has been transmitted in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim in the hadeeth narrated by Sa’d ibn Abee Waqqaas (ra), who relates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered for the geckos to be killed and called them noxious little creatures. So, it would have been killed both in regions outside the Sacred Precinct, as well as within the Sanctuary of Makkah. This hadeeth shows the permissibility of killing harmful animals, even if it occurs within the Sanctuary of Makkah..