It may happen that although the game is struck by the arrow it may nevertheless escape; the hunter may find it some time —perhaps even days—later, dead. In such a case, the game is lawful l s food under the following conditions:

(1) That it is not found in water. The Prophet (peace be on him) said: "If you shoot an arrow and it kills the animal, you can eat it. But if it is found in water, you do not know whether its death was caused by drowning or by your arrow." (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim )

(2) That it has no wounds other than the wound inflicted by the arrow. 'Adi bin Hatim asked the Prophet (peace be on him), "What if I shoot an arrow and find the game the next morning with my arrow in it?" The Prophet (peace be on him) replied: "If you know that your arrow killed it, and you do not find any wound inflicted by wild beasts, you may eat it." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who classifies it as sahih. )

(3) That the game has not reached the stage of decay. People of sound taste are naturally revolted and nauseated by rotten meat, and eating it is also likely to be injurious. It is narrated in the Sahih of Muslim that the Prophet (peace be on him) told Abu Th'alabah al-Khashini, "You shoot an arrow but the game disappears for three days. If you then come upon it, you may eat what is not decayed of it."