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.

Quran & Hadith: Index

ياايها الذين امنوا كلوا من طيبات مارزقناكم واشكروا لله ان كنتم اياه تعبدون

"O ye who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him ye worship."
— Quran. 2:172

ALCOHOL

• ALCOHOL in the Quran
• Hadith referencing ALCOHOL
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

BLOOD

• BLOOD in the Quran
• Hadith referencing BLOOD
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

CARRION (DEAD) الميتة

• CARRION in the Quran
• Hadith referencing CARRION
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

DONKEY & HORSE

• DONKEY & HORSE in the Quran
• Hadith referencing DONKEY & HORSE
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

HALAL

• HALAL in the Quran
• Hadith referencing HALAL
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

HAWWAM
(Insects, Reptiles, Amphibians & Rodents)

• HAWWAM in the Quran
• Hadith referencing HAWWAM
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

HUMAN, PRIMATE

• HUMANS in the Quran
• Hadith referencing HUMANS
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

PORK

• PIGS in the Quran
• Hadith referencing PIGS
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

PREDATORS

• PREDATORS in the Quran
• Hadith referencing PREDATORS
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

SHIRK شرك

• SHIRK in the Quran
• Hadith referencing SHIRK
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

TOXIC / INTOXICANT

• INTOXICANTS in the Quran
• Hadith referencing INTOXICANTS
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

Zabihah ذبيحة

• Zabihah in the Quran
• Hadith referencing Zabihah
• Fiqh: rulings and differences

Quran & Hadith: Donkey (& Horse)

With hadith and fiqh on Mule Meat & Milk

DONKEY and HORSE in the Quran

والخيل والبغال والحمير لتركبوها وزينة ويخلق مالاتعلمون

"And the horse and the mule and the donkey, they are for you to ride and a source of beauty. And He creates other things you do not know."
— َQuran. Surat al-Nahl 16:8

واعدوا لهم مااستطعتم من قوة ومن رباط الخيل ترهبون به عدو الله وعدوكم واخرين من دونهم لاتعلمونهم الله يعلمهم وماتنفقوا من شئ في سبيل الله يوف اليكم وانتم لاتظلمون

"Arm yourselves against them with all the firepower and cavalry you can muster, to terrify the enemies of Allah and your enemies, and others besides them whom you do not know. Allah knows them. Anything you spend in the Way of Allah will be repaid to you in full. You will not be wronged. "
— Quran. Surat al-Anfal 8:60

Hadith referencing DONKEY and HORSE

DONKEYS
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
"Someone came to Allah's Apostle and said, "The donkeys have been (slaughtered and) eaten." Another man came and said, "The donkeys have been destroyed." On that the Prophet ordered a caller to announce to the people: 'Allah and His Apostle forbid you to eat the meat of donkeys, for it is impure.' Thus the pots were turned upside down while the (donkeys') meat was boiling in them."
— Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 436

Narrated by Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a.):
The Prophet (s.a.s.) abrogated (banned) temporary marriages and made the meat of the (domesticated) donkey unlawful on the day of the battle of Khaibar.

Narrated by Khalid ibn Waleed (r.a.):
The Prophet (s.a.s.) prohibited the meat of horses and the mule and the donkey on the day of (the battle of) Khaibar.
[AMNA Note: Conflicts following hadith.]

Narrated by Jabir (r.a.):
The Prophet (s.a.s.) prohibited the meat of domesticated donkey and he permitted the (eating of) horse meat on the day of Khaibar.
—Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim
[AMNA Note: Conflicts preceding hadith.]

Narrated Al-Bara' and Ibn Abi 'Aufa:
The Prophet prohibited the eating of donkey's meat.
— Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 434

HORSES
Asma' said:
"We slaughtered a horse (by dhabh) during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle while we were at Medina, and we ate it."
— Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 419

Islamic Schools of Thought

DONKEYS

Ibnul-Mundhir said:
"There is no disagreement among Muslim scholars regarding the prohibition of the flesh of domestic donkeys."
— Ar-Rawd Al-Murbi'. 7: 418

MULES
Sheikh Muhammad bin Salih Al-‘Uthaimin said:
“Also included (in the prohibition of impure animals) is that which is born an animal which may be eaten and one which may not, such as the Mule, because the mule is born of the donkey when it mates with a female horse, and the horse is permissible, while the donkey is forbidden. So when something is born of that which may be eaten and that which may not, the forbidden portion overcomes the permissible portion and it becomes forbidden.”
— Fatawa Islamiya, Vol. 6, p. 219

HORSES
The majority of scholars are of the view that it is permissible (but makrouh, hated) to eat horses, because of the sound ahadith narrated by Jabir and by Asma' concerning so.

The Hanafi & Maliki Schools of fiqh:
Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik consider eating the meat of horse mekhrouh tahreem (مكروه تحريم). The horse is a noble creature, bestowing nobility on those who ride it. It is also a valuable instrument of battle. Therefore, Imam Abu Hanifa considers it demeaning to use it as a source for meat.

The Shafi'i School of fiqh:
Imam Shafi'i considers that there is nothing wrong with (لا باس باكله) eating horse meat, and considers it as makhrouh tanzih (مكروه تنزيه), citing the hadith of Jabir (r.a.).

MILK
There is a consensus among the Imams of fiqh regarding the milk of horse and donkey. that there is no problem with drinking it because it does not result in the depletion of the tools of war.

HARAM: Donkey (& Horse)

Islamic Prohibition against DONKEY MEAT:

Islam specifically forbids consumption of the meat of domesticated donkey as well as mule meat. Wild donkey, such as zebra, are not prohibited.

HORSE MEAT:

Though not considered haram, the Hanafi, Shafa'i and Malaaki Islamic Schools of Thought (mathahib) consider eating horse meat as makrouh (strongly discouraged).

[ DONKEY (& HORSE) in Quran & Hadith ]

AMNA's Criteria for DONKEY:

The table below describes our criteria for judging a FOOD as DONKEY. Helpful icons make it easy to judge foods at a glance.

ICON	CLASS	AMNA JUDGING CRITERIA	SOME EXAMPLES...
	DONKEY	FOODS made with donkey, mule or horse meat.	laħam taż-żiemel (Maltese), baniku (Japanese)
	DONKEY(?)	FOODS commonly made with donkey, mule or horse meat, but which could be made without either.	Steak tartare, bresaola dell'Ossola (Italian)

Related Topics:
What does Quran and hadith say about eating donkey and horse meat?
What are the food import regulations for countries like Saudi Arabia?
What are the haram animals?
What are the halal animals?
What's the difference between kosher and halal?
Why do we use "?" on some icons? What does it mean?
What if a food contains TWO haram substances?