The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Kill snakes, especially the one with two white stripes on its back and the short-tailed one, for these two cause blindness and miscarriage."Ibn Umar used to kill every snake he came across. Then Abu Lubabah, or Zayd bin al-Khattab, saw him chasing a snake and said to him, "He forbade killing the snakes that dwell in houses."
حدثنا سفيان عن الزهري
قال رسول الله ﷺ اقتلوا الحيات وذا الطفيتين والأبتر فإنهما يلتمسان البصر ويستسقطان الحبل وكان ابن عمر يقتل كل حية وجدها فرآه أبو لبابة أو زيد بن الخطاب وهو يطارد حية فقال إنه قد نهي عن ذوات البيوت
Its chain of transmission is sahih. Abu Dawud (4:535) also related it from Musaddad from Sufyan, with his chain. Munziri said, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah reported it."Dhut-Tufayatayn," with the taa marked with damma and the faa silent. Ibn Athir said, tufya originally means the leaf-blade of the doum-palm, and its plural is tufa. The two lines on the back of the snake were likened to two leaf-blades of the doum-palm."The tailless one" means the one whose tail has been cut off, wherever that may be, among all creatures. It says in Lisan (5:99), the abtar among snakes is the one called the devil, short-tailed, whom no one sees without fleeing from it, and no pregnant woman sees it without miscarrying. It is called this because of the shortness of its tail, as though its tail had been cut off."They seek out eyesight." Khattabi said in Maalim (4:157), two explanations have been given for this. One is that they snatch away eyesight and blind it, this being a special property in their nature when their gaze falls upon the gaze of a person. The other is that its meaning is that they aim at the eyesight by stinging and biting. It has been related in this hadith, in the narration of Abu Umama, "for they snatch away eyesight and cause miscarriage of what is in the wombs of women," which supports the first explanation."Abu Lubaba or Zayd bin Khattab." Abu Lubaba is Ibn Abdul-Munzir, a well known companion. Zayd bin Khattab is the brother of Umar and the uncle of Abdullah bin Umar. The narration here likewise expresses uncertainty between the two.Bukhari related it (6:248-249) through the route of Hisham from Mamar from Zuhri, mentioning Abu Lubaba alone, without any uncertainty. Khattabi said, Abdul-Razzaq related from Mamar, "Abu Lubaba or Zayd bin Khattab saw me," and Yunus, Ibn Uyayna, Ishaq Kalbi, and Zubaydi followed him in this. Salih, Ibn Abu Hafsa, and Ibn Jumay related from Zuhri, from Salim, from Ibn Umar, "Abu Lubaba and Zayd bin Khattab saw me."Bukhari also related it (6:252-253) through the route of Ibn Abu Mulayka from Ibn Umar, and in it, "I met Abu Lubaba," then he related it through the route of Jareer bin Hazim from Nafi from Ibn Umar, mentioning Abu Lubaba alone."Those found in houses" means those that are found within houses. Tirmidhi said (2:348), Abdullah bin Mubarak said, what is disliked regarding the killing of snakes applies only to the slender snake that looks like silver and does not writhe as it moves.