16. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from Ya‘qub ibn Yazid from Ahmad ibn al-Mubarak, from Salih ibn ‘A‘yan from al-Washsha’ from Ayyub ibn ‘A‘yan who has said the following:

“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah , I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause. What do you say about a snake that has swallowed a fish then has thrown it out and it still is alive and struggling; if it can be used for food. He (the Imam) said, ‘If its scales are peeled off then do not use it for food; but if it is not peeled off you can use it for food.’”