Quran & Hadith: Donkey (& Horse)

With hadith and fiqh on Mule Meat & Milk

DONKEY and HORSE in the Quran

والخيل والبغال والحمير لتركبوها وزينة ويخلق مالاتعلمون

"And the horse and the mule and the donkey, they are for you to ride and a source of beauty. And He creates other things you do not know."
— َQuran. Surat al-Nahl 16:8

واعدوا لهم مااستطعتم من قوة ومن رباط الخيل ترهبون به عدو الله وعدوكم واخرين من دونهم لاتعلمونهم الله يعلمهم وماتنفقوا من شئ في سبيل الله يوف اليكم وانتم لاتظلمون

"Arm yourselves against them with all the firepower and cavalry you can muster, to terrify the enemies of Allah and your enemies, and others besides them whom you do not know. Allah knows them. Anything you spend in the Way of Allah will be repaid to you in full. You will not be wronged. "
— Quran. Surat al-Anfal 8:60

Hadith referencing DONKEY and HORSE

DONKEYS
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
"Someone came to Allah's Apostle and said, "The donkeys have been (slaughtered and) eaten." Another man came and said, "The donkeys have been destroyed." On that the Prophet ordered a caller to announce to the people: 'Allah and His Apostle forbid you to eat the meat of donkeys, for it is impure.' Thus the pots were turned upside down while the (donkeys') meat was boiling in them."
— Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 436

Narrated by Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a.):
The Prophet (s.a.s.) abrogated (banned) temporary marriages and made the meat of the (domesticated) donkey unlawful on the day of the battle of Khaibar.

Narrated by Khalid ibn Waleed (r.a.):
The Prophet (s.a.s.) prohibited the meat of horses and the mule and the donkey on the day of (the battle of) Khaibar.
[AMNA Note: Conflicts following hadith.]

Narrated by Jabir (r.a.):
The Prophet (s.a.s.) prohibited the meat of domesticated donkey and he permitted the (eating of) horse meat on the day of Khaibar.
—Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim
[AMNA Note: Conflicts preceding hadith.]

Narrated Al-Bara' and Ibn Abi 'Aufa:
The Prophet prohibited the eating of donkey's meat.
— Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 434

HORSES
Asma' said:
"We slaughtered a horse (by dhabh) during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle while we were at Medina, and we ate it."
— Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 419

Islamic Schools of Thought

DONKEYS

Ibnul-Mundhir said:
"There is no disagreement among Muslim scholars regarding the prohibition of the flesh of domestic donkeys."
— Ar-Rawd Al-Murbi'. 7: 418

MULES
Sheikh Muhammad bin Salih Al-‘Uthaimin said:
“Also included (in the prohibition of impure animals) is that which is born an animal which may be eaten and one which may not, such as the Mule, because the mule is born of the donkey when it mates with a female horse, and the horse is permissible, while the donkey is forbidden. So when something is born of that which may be eaten and that which may not, the forbidden portion overcomes the permissible portion and it becomes forbidden.”
— Fatawa Islamiya, Vol. 6, p. 219

HORSES
The majority of scholars are of the view that it is permissible (but makrouh, hated) to eat horses, because of the sound ahadith narrated by Jabir and by Asma' concerning so.

The Hanafi & Maliki Schools of fiqh:
Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik consider eating the meat of horse mekhrouh tahreem (مكروه تحريم). The horse is a noble creature, bestowing nobility on those who ride it. It is also a valuable instrument of battle. Therefore, Imam Abu Hanifa considers it demeaning to use it as a source for meat.

The Shafi'i School of fiqh:
Imam Shafi'i considers that there is nothing wrong with (لا باس باكله) eating horse meat, and considers it as makhrouh tanzih (مكروه تنزيه), citing the hadith of Jabir (r.a.).

MILK
There is a consensus among the Imams of fiqh regarding the milk of horse and donkey. that there is no problem with drinking it because it does not result in the depletion of the tools of war.