Branding Cattle for Identification

Question :

There are proofs from Fiqh saying that it is unlawful to brand animals on the face. We are Bedouins, and we need to brand animals to identify them, especially since animals of different owners mix in grazing fields. Also, branding an animal deters the thief: he finds it very difficult to sell branded animals. Is it permissible, then, for us to brand them?

Answer:

Yes, it is allowed to brand them for the purposes you mentioned, as long as you avoid the face, since it is recorded by the Two Shaykh may Allah have mercy upon them in their Sahihs, from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he saw a branding iron in the hand of Allah's Messenger ﷺ: he was branding camels that were allocated for charity.

In the narration recorded by Ahmad and Ibn Majah, he said that he saw the Prophet branding sheep on their ears. As for branding on the face, that is not allowed because the Messenger forbade it.

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