The Legitimacy of Sea Animals: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

Quran is the basic source of the religion of Islam. Allah Almighty has bestowed upon us is the fact that he has made our religion easy for us, and has not made it too difficult or unbearable. ﴾Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.﴿ (Al-Baqrāh 2:185). In this article, we will discuss about the sea- animals which is used for food. Seafood includes any form of food taken from the sea. Furthermore, seafood is any kind of sea life regarded as food by humans. Seafood prominently includes fish and other sea creatures like shellfish, prawns, crabs, lobsters, shrimps etc. In the last few years, the demand of seafood has doubled. The trends of seafood are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia. There are many deviated exegeses of seafood in each school of thought. Al-HanafĪ school of thought said: all fishes except squids are halāl. In al-ShāfaĪ school of thought: all aquatic animals except those that have a human terrestrial counterpart are halāl. Al-MālikĪ school of thought: all aquatic animals are halāl. Al-Hanbli school of thought: all aquatic animals are halāl. In Shia school of thought: only fishes with scales and also shrimps are halāl. Al ShāfaĪ, al MālikĪ and al HanblĪ are laxed on this particular issue where they regarded most of the creatures of the ocean to be halāl. The view in Hanāfi school of thought is very much restricted, because they allow fish to be consumed from the sea. All other creatures are considered to be harām. “Allah has made lawful to you is the fished of the sea and its food” [Al-Māidah 5:96]