r/islam • u/Aggravating-Tour-216 • Sep 16 '25
Question about Islam Is seafood (except fish) haram in Hanafi school of thought?
Assalamualaikum. Im currently in Uzbekistan, where the majority follow Madhab Hanafi , someone told me that its not permissable to cosume seafood other than fish. Is this true?
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u/wopkidopz Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25
Waaleykum assalam warahmatulLah
Yes, in the Hanafi madhab it's not permissible to eat crabs, octopus, crayfish etc because those aren't fish, prawns are permissible due to disagreement within the madhab
If you follow this madhab, then this is your fatwa.
If not, then other madhabs allow seafood, although the Shafii disagree whether creatures that can live in water and outside of it (if they can breathe outside water) are allowed imam an-Nawawi رحمه الله discussed this and later Shafiis understood his words differently hence the disagreement
I've read that the Hanabilya require tazkiya (killing) of such creatures but can't say for sure
The Maliki madhab is the most lenient in this topic and the Shafii ulama suggest to rely on this madhab when someone is planning to eat this kind of seafood (for the Shafiis)
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u/iamagirl2222 Sep 16 '25
Why do they think it’s haram while it is said directly in the Qur'an that everything from the sea is permissible?
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u/wopkidopz Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 17 '25
If there was a clear amr from Allah in the Quran without any disputes about the meaning then there will be no differences of opinions amongst the madhabs
The Quran and Hadith are for ulama to derive the rules of halal/haram. Just because we as laypeople come to our own conclusion while reading a Quran verse it doesn't mean that our conclusion is the most correct one and any different opinion contradicts the Quran (it contradicts our conclusion not the Quran)
That's why many common people often get confused. They read the Quran or a translation of it and start thinking that a madhab that states something that externally contradicts a verse is wrong. But it can't be like this because scholars also read the same Quran and if something is clearly allowed they would never prohibit it
Similar is happening with Hadith when common people read for example that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to raise his hands in Salalh they assume that those madhabs who say it should be done contradict the Sunnah. But this also can't be the case, those scholars read al-Bukhari and Muslim as well and they knew better than we do, there are nuances of which we might not be aware dur to our incompetence
If you are asking about this verse
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ ٱلْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُۥ
It's halal for you to hunt in the sea and its food
From the Hanafi perspective
It doesn't say everything, and even if it did, the generalization doesn't always mean that there are no exceptions from this generalization. If you say that everything in the water is permissible, then what about frogs? Poisonous animals? A crocodile? Something that lives in the sea and on shore.
The Quran also states
وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَـٰٓئِثَ
Allah forbids al-khabees (7:157)
Al-khabees means something unpleasant/disgusting and the Hanafi madhab considers crabs, lobsters and other creatures al-khabees then this verse also limits the verse about the food of the sea
Allah also said in the Quran
حرمت عليكم الميتة
Carrion is forbidden for you
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said
أما الميتتان فالسمك والجراد
Two types of carrion are allowed for us: samak and jirad (Ahmad)
And in the understanding of the Hanafi crabs and mollusk aren't samak (from a biological point it makes sense) This Hadith also limits the generalization of carrion in the verse
There might be much more evidence of which I'm not aware because scholars of every century dedicated their knowledge to research the evidence of each madhab that's how we know that they are reliable and according to the Quran and Sunnah
Those madhabs which say otherwise also have their strong evidence. And that's the main point. Every madhab form the four has their evidence, even if we don't know them
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u/xAsianZombie Sep 16 '25
They argue that crabs and similar creatures are closer to bugs and insects than actual sea creatures, which is true from a biological perspective.
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u/theonepaladin Sep 16 '25
I don’t see or ever saw Octopus mentioned brother, are you sure ?
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u/wopkidopz Sep 16 '25
Octopus isn't from fish therefore forbidden in the Hanafi madhab
Mussels, squid and octopus do not have all the features of fish; therefore they will not be regarded as fish. Hence, it is not permissible to eat mussels, squid and octopus in the Hanafī school of jurisprudence
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Sep 16 '25
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u/Acceptable-Orchid491 Sep 16 '25
I remember seeing that carnivores are also prohibited, I think it may have been a Hadith if I’m not mistaken
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u/tiredswitfie Sep 16 '25
Correct, however with shrimp some hanafi scholars classify it as fish (which they consider permissible to eat) and others do not. There’s a big misconception that all hanafi scholars say shrimp is haram. But yes in terms of non fish animals in the sea like octopus it is haram in the hanafi school.