Should I give Sadaqah for mistakenly killing an Animal?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Your respect and feelings for the life of an animal is commendable. 

If you could have avoided running over the animal by driving cautiously at a reduced speed, but failed to do so, then you should make Istighfar for your negligence.  

You may give Sadaqah as an atonement for harming the animal without cause.  

See the following Hadith:

وَأَتْبِعْ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا

Translation: Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said: And follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it (the sin) out. (Al Arba’een Nawawi-18)

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Hasan Ahmed Razzak

Student – Darul Iftaa

Paterson, New Jersey, USA

Checked and Approved by,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

(2021)