Question
Assalam-o-Alaikum Sir
On what authority do we maintain that all sea food is ḥalāl for us? What connection does it have with the fact that they are cold blooded animals? Our Shī‘ī brothers believe that only certain fish is ḥalāl. What is their justification?
Thank you
Kind Regards
Sameera Malik
Answer
The scholars of Islam (Shī‘ī and Sunnī) have generally accepted (based on Sunnah and the Ḥadīth) that rules of consuming meet originating from water are more relaxed as compared to the meet originating from land. This is in fact in accordance with the normal and general perception of human beings about sea food. A simple example of this is that the word mayta (dead animal) is not usually used in Arabic for fish that is dead. Interestingly enough it is the same in some other languages as well.
Accordingly, in principle, the general conditions of slaughtering and killing animals are relaxed when it comes to consuming fish and sea food. For example both Shī‘ī and Sunnī scholars agree that saying the name of the Almighty or being a Muslim are not the restrictive conditions of getting fish or sea food from water.
There are then other conditions on which there is less agreement between scholars. Example of this is that the Shī‘ī generally hold the view that only scale fish and prawn and shrimp (from sea food) is ḥalāl. They derive this ruling based on the reported views of their Imams.
For a non- Shī‘ī who does not believe in infallibility of the Shī‘ī Imams, the above view is only an opinion with no basis and in absence of any other directive of the Qur’ān or Sunnah a non- Shī‘ī generally considers sea food to be ḥalāl.
On the other hand, it seems like traditional Sunnī scholars use verse 5:96 as evidence that absolutely everything from water is ḥalāl. This does not seem to be valid evidence because if we read the verse within the context we will appreciate that it only tells us what (from among the things that are ḥalāl) remains ḥalāl for us while doing Hajj.
It makes more sense to say that using the rule of Qiyās (comparison) wild animals in water (like Shark, etc.) are not good for consumption. We need to appreciate that many of these detailed issues are simply a matter of opinion rather than absolutely strict verdicts based on the Sharī‘ah rules.
Regards,
Answered by: Farhad Shafti
Date: 2015-04-02
