HARAM: Animals

Categories of haram Animals

Listed below, the basic Islamic principles of permissibility and impermissibility, within the Hanafi School of Thought, with regards to animal consumption. Muslim scholars[1] have classified prohibited (haram) land and air animals into six categories. These are:

1. Animals specifically stated in the Quran and Sunnah as haram, such as domestic donkeys and pigs.
2. Animals restricted by certain characteristics and criteria, like fanged beasts of prey (predators) and birds with talons.
3. Scavengers that feed on carrion (dead animals), like vultures, crow, insects.
4. Whatever is pernicious and causes harm, injury, ruin, like rats, snakes, scorpions, raccoon, and the kite hawk.
5. Whatever is born as a result of copulation between two animal species, one of which is lawful to be eaten and the other which is prohibited, like the mule.
6. Whatever the Shari'ah has ordered us to kill, like the five pernicious animals, and what Allah has forbidden us from killing, like the frog, the hoopoe (a crested bird) and the shrike (a bird with a hooked, jagged bill).

All other animals and birds are considered lawful, according to the rule stating that anything is deemed halal (lawful)[2, 3] until proved otherwise.

Things to Keep in Mind

1. Each of the four Sunni (Shafa'i, Maliki, Hanbali & Hanafi) and the Shi'a (Jafari) Schools of Thought developed principles of permissibility with regards to which animals are lawful (halal) and which are unlawful (haram) for consumption. That being said, the basis for their jurisprudence (fiqh) is the common source of guidance for all Muslims—the Quran & Sunnah. While the principles above are representative of the whole, variations may exist.
2. There are separate rules with regards to slaughtering and hunting halal animals. Failure to comply with these rules may render the meat of a halal animal haram.
3. The jallalah of halal animals (cows, chicken, camels, etc.) are temporarily excluded from the lawful foods until they can be cleansed.

A list haram animals

ANIMAL	HALAL	COMMENTS
Boar	No
Cephalopods octopus, squid, cuttlefish	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other sunni Schools of Thought. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Crustaceans crab, lobster, crawfish	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other sunni Schools of Thought. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Donkey	No
Frog	No
Horse	Yes*	While permitted, eating horse meat is hated (makrouh).
Insects carmine, shellac, cheese mites	No*	The Arabian locust is the only insect that is allowed by both halal and kosher dietary laws.
Pig swine, boar	No
Predators, Air hawk, owl, falcon	No
Predators, Land bear, dog, alligator, snake	No
Scavengers, Carrion Eaters buzzards, raccoon, worms	No*	Scavenging sea creatures are permitted.
Shellfish mussels, clams, oysters	Yes*	Sunni: Hanafi fiqh split on its legality. Halal in all other sunni Schools of Thought. Shi'a: Not halal in Jafari.
Snails	No
Zebra	Yes*	A wild donkey, zebra meat is permissible.