She took a sample of plants in Makkah for scientific research; does she have to offer expiation?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

There are many ahaadeeth in
al-Saheehayn and elsewhere which speak of the sanctity of the plants
of the Makkan sanctuary, for example the words of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about Makkah: “It was not permissible
for anyone before me and it is not permissible for anyone after me; it was
only permitted to me for part of a day. Now, at this very hour, it is
sacred; its thorns are not to be cut, its trees are not to be cut down and
its lost property is not to be picked up except by the one who announces
it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (112) and Muslim (1355).

Imam Ibn Qudaamah (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni (3/161): The scholars are
unanimously agreed that it is haraam to cut the trees of the Haram, but it
is permissible to take idhkhir [a kind of grass] and what people plant of
vegetables, crops and herbs. This was narrated by Ibn al-Mundhir. End
quote.

So they were unanimously
agreed that it is haraam to cut the trees of the Haram, but they differed
concerning some issues, such as:

Is it haraam to cut
everything in the Haram, or does the prohibition apply only to that which
grows by itself? Most of the scholars say that what is haraam is that which
grows by itself; that which is planted by people is not haraam.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (7/218): What is
haraam is the plants of the Haram, not the onats of human beings. Based on
this, whatever has been planted by man or by his broadcasting seeds is not
forbidden, because it is his possession and is not attributed to the Haram,
rather it is attributed to its owner. End quote.

Also: is it haraam to take
leaves from the trees of the Haram or not? The Hanbalis do not regard it as
permissible to take the leaves, unlike the majority of scholars who say that
it is permissible to take them, because it does not harm the tree. This is
the view of the three other madhhabs. Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni
(3/170): He does not have the right to take the leaves of the trees.
Al-Shaafa’i said: He may take them, because (the tree) is not harmed by
that. ‘Ata’ used to grant a concession allowing people to take the leaves of
the senna plant [a plant that is used for medicinal purposes] which is used
as a laxative [i.e., the water in which its leaves are steeped is drunk as a
laxative, as it says in Taaj al-‘Aroos], but it should not be
uprooted. ‘Amr ibn Dinar also granted a concession concerning this.

But the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Its thorns are not to be cut and
its trees are not to be cut down.” Narrated by Muslim. And if it is haraam
to take something, every part of it is haraam, like the feathers of a bird.

Their saying that it does
not harm the tree is not correct because it weakens it, and it may lead to
its destruction. End quote.

Based on this, if the
leaves that the sister took came from a tree that was not planted by humans,
then taking them is something concerning which there is a difference of
scholarly opinion, but the majority say that it is permissible whereas the
Hanbalis disallow it. If there was no public need for taking them, then if
she took them although she could have used some other leaves instead from
outside the Haram, then she should pray for forgiveness and repent to
Allaah. If there was an educational need that would benefit the people, and
a tree outside the Haram would not do instead, then there is no blame in sha
Allaah.

Whatever the case, there is
no liability and she does not have to offer expiation, because the fuqaha’
who do not allow taking leaves are the Hanbalis, and they do not impose
liability for the trees of the Haram. This was stated in a fatwa by the
Scholars of the Standing Committee in which it says:

If he destroys any of the
trees or plants of the Haram that belong to someone, then he must pay its
value to its owner, but if it does not belong to anyone, then he does not
have to do anything, but he should not do that deliberately, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade it.

Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah (13/209).

But if this tree belonged
to someone, there is nothing wrong with taking these leaves in sha Allaah,
because this is something that is usually tolerated.

And Allaah knows best.