www.askimam.org/public/question_detail/28622
My question pertains to permissibility of eating prawns or shrimps. I know that it is halal in some schools and haram in others depending upon whether prawns are considered fish or not. My question is that in the schools that consider eating prawns halal, is it permissible to eat prawns that have not been deveined?
Prawns have 2 visible veins in their body, 1 running along the back and one along its belly. The one one along the back is actually its digestive tract and is filled with partially digested food as well as feaces. The digestive tract can be removed (deveining) before cooking. However if we eat a prawn in which the digestive tract has not been removed we would be consuming its feaces along with the flesh. Feaces is generally considered impure and haram. Would this also apply to prawn feaces? If so, then would it be permissible to eat a prawn whose digestive tract has not been removed before cooking?
Jazakallah for your advice.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
The impurities in the digestive tract of a fish have to be removed in order for the fish to become permissible to consume. This is more essential in small fishes where generally the digestive tract is not cleaned. Accordingly, the same ruling will apply to prawns if consumed based on the opinion of those ‘Ulamā who regard prawns as a fish. Therefore, it will be necessary to remove the digestive tract (a dark dorsal vein) before consuming. [1]
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
AbdulMannan Nizami
Student Darul Iftaa
Chicago, IL, USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
[1] وفي " الذخيرة ": لو وجد سمكة في بطن طائفة يؤكل، وإن كانت الطافية لا تؤكل. ولو وجد في حوصلة طائر يؤكل وعند الشافعي - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - لا يؤكل لأنه كالرجيع، ورجيع الطائر عنده نجس. قلنا: إنما يصير رجيعا إذا تغير. وفي السمك الصغار التي تقلى من غير أن يشق جوفها، قال أصحابنا: لا يحل أكله لأن رجيعته نجس. وعندنا وسائر أجزائه تحل
[البناية، كتاب الذبائح، السمك اذا مات بآفة، ج١١، ص٦١٥، دار الكتب العلمية]
قُلْت: وَفِي مِعْرَاجِ الدِّرَايَةِ: لَوْ وُجِدَتْ سَمَكَةٌ فِي حَوْصَلَةِ الطَّائِرِ تُؤْكَلُ. وَعِنْدَ الشَّافِعِيِّ لَا تُؤْكَلُ لِأَنَّهُ كَالرَّجِيعِ وَرَجِيعُ الطَّائِرِ عِنْدَهُ نَجِسٌ، وَقُلْنَا إنَّمَا يُعْتَبَرُ رَجِيعًا إذَا تَغَيَّرَ. وَفِي السَّمَكِ الصِّغَارِ الَّتِي تُقْلَى مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يُشَقَّ جَوْفُهُ، فَقَالَ أَصْحَابُهُ لَا يَحِلُّ أَكْلُهُ لِأَنَّ رَجِيعَهُ نَجِسٌ، وَعِنْدَ سَائِرِ الْأَئِمَّةِ يَحِلُّ
[رد المحتار، كتاب الذبائح، ج٦، ص٣٠٩، سعيد]
السمك الصغار كلها مكروهة كراهة التحريم هو الأصح
[جواهر الأخلاطي، كتاب الذبائح، ص٢٢٩/٢٨٧، مخطوط]
اس پر بندہ کو مدت سے اشکال تھا کہ مچھلی کا رجیع کیونکر حلال قرار دیا گیا؟ جواہر الاخلاطی کی نص کراہت تحریمہ سے اطمینان ہوا۔
حرمت سمک صغار کی علت یہ ہے کہ آلاءش صاف کیٗ بغیر کھایٗ جاتی ہے اس سے مراد متعین ہے گیٗ۔
[احسن الفتاوي، كتاب الصيد و الذبائح، ج٧، ص٣٨٩، سعيد]
سوال: و مچلی آلاءش بغیر دور کےٗ ہوے اس کے معدہ سمیت خشک کر لی جاتی ہے، اس کو کھانا درست ہے یا نہہں؟
جواب:اس کو شگاف دے کر دھو کر پاک کر کے کھانا درست ہے۔
[امداد الفتاوي، خشك مجلي كهانا، ج٤، ص١٠٤، مكتبة دار العلوم كراتشي]
"If a fish is found in the belly of a bird, it may be eaten, even though the ṭāfiyah (fish which is found dead floating on the surface of the water) is not eaten. If it is found in the stomach of a bird, it may be eaten, and according to Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله), it may not be eaten because it is like excrement. The excrement of birds is impure according to him. We say that it only becomes excrement when it undergoes change. With regard to small fish which are cooked without removing their insides, our companions (of the madhhab) say that it will not be permissible to eat because its excrement is impure. According to us, the rest of its parts are permissible to eat."
[al-Bināyah, Kitāb al-Dhabāʾiḥ, al-Samak idhā māta bi-āfah, Vol. 11, pg. 615, Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah]
"I say: In Miʿrāj al-Dirāyah, it is written: If a fish is found in the stomach of a bird, it may be eaten. According to al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله), it may not be eaten because it is like excrement and the excrement of a bird according to him is impure. We say that it will only be considered to be excrement when it undergoes change. With regard to small fish which are cooked without removing their insides, his companions (i.e. those of al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله)) say that it is not permissible to eat because its excrement is impure. According to the rest of the Imāms, it is permissible."
[Radd al-Muḥtār, Kitāb al-Dhabāʾiḥ, Vol. 6, pg. 309, H.M. Saʿīd]
"Small fish are all makrūh taḥrīmī; this is the most correct view."
[Jawāhir al-Akhlāṭī, Kitāb al-Dhabāʾiḥ, pgs. 229 & 287, manuscript]
"Regarding this, this humble servant experienced difficulty for a considerable period of time: why has the excrement of fish been determined to be ḥarām? Satisfaction was found in the conclusion of karāhah taḥrīmiyyah from the text of Jawāhir al-Akhlāṭī.
The ʿillah (cause) for the impermissibility of small fish is that they are eaten without removing the filth. From this, the intent is determined."
[Aḥsan al-Fatāwā, Kitāb al-Ṣayd wa 'l-Dhabāʾiḥ, Vol. 7, pg. 389, H.M. Saʿīd]
Question: Is it permissible to eat the fish which has not had the filth removed and is dried with its stomach intact, or not?
Answer: After cutting opening the fish, washing it, and purifying it (i.e. removing the impurities), it will be permissible to eat.
[Imdād al-Fatāwā, Khushk machlī k'hānā, Vol. 4, pg. 104, Maktabah Dār al-ʿUlūm Karāchī]