Catching mountain bees

Q: I live in the Southern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia We practice bee leakage, which means: We have some places in the mountains where bees live for many years and inside the solid rocks. If someone wants to catch bees, he brings a beehive, i.e., a piled up box of wood of 2m length, which is hollow from inside and opened from both sides. The bees are trapped (Part No. 15; Page No. 439) inside the rock for one full day. Afterwards, the beehive is placed on the opening of the rock and the bees fly into the hive. The side of the beehive which leads to the rock is closed and the bees remain in the hive. When the hive is full, the second opening is closed and the bees are taken away. Recently, I have heard that this process is prohibited in Islam; could you please advise me in this regard? May Allah preserve you!

A: If no one before you owned these bees by caring for them and fixing their place, you may put them in wooden beehives, or any other containers. You may do so whether in their natural habitat, or in any place. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.