Which Fish & Seafood is Halal?

Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. As-salamu alaykum, wa Rahmat Ullahi Ta'ala, wa barakatu. Seafood is a delicacy that many of us enjoy. In some places it is an important part of the daily diet and in other places it is loved so much that is consumed in every meal of the day, including breakfast. For example, in Basra, in the Southern part of Iraq, it is well known that they eat fish in the morning as well as the other main meals. At the same time, the Shi'a Islamic law relating to seafood and what can be consumed differs extensively to other Muslim jurisprudential schools such as Hanbali and Hanafi.

Whilst the latter believes many of the sea creatures are halal to eat, the majority of the scholars from the school of Ahl Al-Bayt state that what can be consumed from the sea is limited. The following is the opinion of what is common amongst the Shi'a scholars, al-mashur such as that of Ayatullah as-Sistani hafidha Allah.

The fish that is halal to eat must have scales, as well as be caught alive out of water. In addition, shrimp and prawn are halal too. All other sea creatures are not permissible to consume. So, for example, crab, oyster, squid, lobster, saltfish, calamari and octopus are all haram and not allowed. Hence, for the fish to be halal, it must have scales. The scales could have existed at some stage during the life of the fish. As long as the fish has some scales in it, it is halal to consume. The egg of the fish that has scales are halal too. Conversely, the eggs of haram fish, i.e., those without scales, is also haram.

Examples of fish that have scales include: cod, salmon, herring, bass, sardines, whitefish, and kingfish. Tuna, is also halal except for dogtooth tuna, which is also known as pig tooth tuna as well as scaleless tuna. You can find the link under this video with the names of some of the fish that have scales. What is very important to note, however, is the need to establish and ascertain whether fish has scales before eating it.

This is the case. If we are buying fish or being served fish in the restaurant or part of flight meal, for example, just because a Muslim is serving it or it is in a halal restaurant, does not suffice, since we have to be certain that the fish we are eating has scales. This is done by asking which kind of fish it is and looking it up there and then to find out if it is a scale fish. Having doubt about this or just accepting it by a possibility is not good enough.

So for example, during a flight, when we are given an option to have fish, you must be sure that it is a scale fish. Otherwise you shouldn't eat it. You must ask the name of the fish and then find out if it has scales. Maybe it is a good idea to have on your phone a list of commonly used scale fish so that you can cheque it during the flight in case you don't have access to the Internet.

Also note that oil extracted from fish without scales or other sea animals such as socks, etc. are haram to consume as well. Without going into detail, the basis for the prohibition of scaleless fish, as well as other marine creatures, except shrimp and prawn, is the existence of many narrations from the Ahl Al-Bayt, alayhum as-salam, that point to this.

For example, in Al-Kafi, volume six, Imam Al-Baqir, alayhi as-salam, is narrated to have said: "eat any fish that has scales and do not eat what does not have scales". If you have any questions on this regard, please contact me on the Ask the Sheikh section on Islamiced.Org.