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Fatwa CenterAll sea animals are lawful to eat except if harmful
Question
I would like to a get a detailed answer on "Halal" fish. I keep hearing that Catfish is not Halal or lobster is not Halal. What is the agreed upon Fatwa?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. If your question is about two kinds of fish, then what is evidenced through Shariah (Islamic) rules is that all of kinds of fish are allowed to eat. Among the proofs are the following: Allah the Exalted Says: Lawful to you is (the pursuit of) water game and its use for food - for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel[5:96] When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about using seawater in making ablution (Wudhu), he said: Its water is pure and what dies (from its animals) is lawful food. [Narrated by the four Imams of Sunan and others] He also said: made lawful to us (Muslims) are two dead things and two kinds of blood; the two dead things are fish and locusts, and the two kinds of blood are the lever and the spleen [Narrated by Ahmad , Ibn Majah , and Ad-Daraqutni ] According to Saheeh Al-Bukhari (collection of authentic Ahadith by Al-Bukhari ), Shuraih, said: everything in the sea is Halal (lawful) meat (edible) . The conclusion is that all the various kinds of fish are permissible to eat unless some detrimental consequences will ensue from eating a certain type of them such as a poisonous type of fish, in which case eating it becomes prohibited for the human safety. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Harming oneself or causing harm to others are both forbidden. [Narrated by Malik and Ibn Majah ] Allah knows best.
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