Question: Is it permissible to kill a rat with a sticky substance so to leave it until it dies?

Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy upon him) said,

“If you want to kill a rat, and killing it is desirable, then do well in the method of killing. Kill it by that which the soul passes immediately, and do not harm it. And from harming it is what some people do whereas they place something sticky for it (a rat), so it will get stuck on it then leave it (a rat) to die of hunger and thirst, and this is NOT PERMISSIBLE. So if you placed this sticky substance, then it is a must that inspection and observation are repeated, so if you find anything stuck on it, then you kill it.
As for leaving this sticky material two days or three and a rat falls in it and dies of thirst and hunger, then it is feared upon you that you will enter the Hell-fire for that because the Prophet (praise and peace be upon him) said, “A woman entered the
Hell-Fire because of a cat which she had imprisoned until it died, she didn’t feed it nor did she set it free to eat from the vermin of the earth.”

Translated by: Ali Ibn Nathaniel Grays

Source: http://aloloom.net/vb/showthread.php…738#post122738

* Origin of the Shaikh’s speech: Explanation of Riyaadu-Saaliheen (4/ 596)