Does Islam Condone Bestiality?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalamu alaykum.
Could you explain the hadith below?
“There is no prescribed punishment for one who has sexual intercourse with an animal.”
An atheist was saying that Islam condones intercourse with animals by providing this hadith as evidence for it. Could you provide any kind of evidence regarding its permissibility or not and how that relates to this hadith? 
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
Bestiality is absolutely unlawful and a major crime in Islam. This needs no explanation.
The tradition related by Ibn `Abbas merely affirms that there is no penal punishment for the act. There are very few specifically prescribed penal punishments. However, in the event that such an act occurs, the perpetrator would be punished as per the discretion of the government.
See: Strange Legal Rulings and Understanding Fiqh Manuals
And Allah alone gives success.
wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani