As far as terrestrial or land animals are concerned, Allah has prohibited only the eating of pork, the flesh of any animal which dies of itself or is sacrificed to anyone other than Allah, and the drinking of blood. These prohibitions are explicitly mentioned in the text of the Qur'an, comprising, as we have seen, four major and ten minor categories.

At the same time, the Qur'an says concerning the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him): He...makes lawful to them what is good and makes unlawful what is foul.... (7:157)
Foul things are those which, although some individuals may like them, people generally find detestable. As an instance of this, on the day of the confrontation of Khaibar, the Prophet (peace be on him) forbade the eating of the flesh of domesticated donkeys. (Reported by al-Bukhari. Concerning this hadith, it is said that the prohibition of eating donkeys was temporary and was due to an emergency, as donkeys were needed for riding. This is similar to a situation in which, due to a shortage of meat, a government may prohibit the slaughtering of young animals so they may grow bigger or the hunting of deer in a particular season, etc.)

Another example of the same thing is provided by a hadith narrated by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, which states that the Prophet (peace be on him) "forbade the eating of any wild animals with a canine tooth and of any bird with talons." "Wild animals" denotes those which prey on others and devour them by tearing them apart, e.g., the lion, leopard, wolf, and the like; birds with talons such as the hawk, eagle, falcon, etc., do the same.

According to Ibn 'Abbas, nothing is haram other than the four categories mentioned in the Qur'an, while what the Prophet (peace be on him) forbade, such as beasts of prey, are to be regarded as makruh (detestable) rather than reaching the degree of haram. Said Ibn 'Abbas: The people of the time of jahiliyyah ate certain foods and avoided others, according to their whim. Then Allah sent His Prophet (peace be on him) and revealed His Book, and He legislated what is permissible and what is prohibited. Accordingly, what He permitted is halal, what He prohibited is haram, and that concerning which He is silent is allowed. Ibn 'Abbas then recited, Say: I do not find in what is revealed to me anything prohibited to an eater in his food. Say: I do not find in what is revealed to me anything prohibited to an eater in his food. Say: I do not find in what is revealed to me anything prohibited to an eater in his food. (6:145) (Reported by Abu Daoud as the saying of Ibn 'Abbas.)