['Aalim Network QR] Clarification on Eating Fish

["Akil M. Karim" <amk@io.org>]

________________________________________________________________________
|                          w           w     w                          |\
|                           ||          ||   | ||                       |\
|                    o_,_7 _||  . _o_7 _|| 4_|_||  o_w_,                |\
|                   ( :   /    (_)    /           (   .                 |\
|                                                                       |\
|           ||  ||         |  ||   |T              |     | ||    |      |\
|   . _, _8 |_D_|| . _,_,_,_D_|| 4_|| q ]_o_7_o   _|_c 4_|_||   _|,_p q |\
|  (_): /         (_): . :            /        (_S           (_S      / |\
|                                                                       |\
|       In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful       |\
|  Greeting of Allah be upon Muhammad and the pure members of his House |\
|_______________________________________________________________________|\

Salamun 'Alaykum

The following clarification to an earlier question was kindly provided 
by Br. Mustafa.

Fee Amanillah,

Akil Karim
Acting Moderator for ABDG-A

---------- Forwarded message ----------

INITIAL QUESTION:

If you don't mind, I have another question.  This one is about eating fish.
As far as I know, the Quran does not specifically mention which types of
fish and other water-dwelling creatures are halal or haram.  I have been
taught not to eat lobster and catfish, for instance, but that shrimp and
fish with scales are okay.  First, is this correct?  And second,  is
there a hadith or other source on which this is based?
Thankyou for any help you can give, inshallah.

ANSWER:

In the name of the Almighty,

It is very true that all creatures apart from prawns (shrimps) and fishes
that have scales are haram to eat. For this there are many ahadith.

Muhammad bin Muslim asked Imam Jaffer Al-Sadiq (AS) about a fish that has no
scales to which the Imam(AS) replied: " Eat of the fishes that have scales
and do not eat of the fishes that have no scales"

(Fiqh Al-Imam Jaffer Al-Sadiq by Jawad Mughniya Vol 4 Pg 368)


FOLLOW-UP QUESTION:

In the first sentence it is said that all creatures APART from shrimps
and fishes that HAVE SCALES are HARAM to eat. Meaning that as a rule,
if they have scales they are haram to eat, except shrimp and fishes.

Yet in the hadith that is quoted, it is stated,".:
"...do not eat of the fishes that have no scales"

Maybe there was a typo. Could you please clarify.


CLARIFICATION:

In the name of the Almighty

I guess the sentence could be read in both ways. The actual fact is that
only prawns and fish that have scales are permitted. All the other marine
creatures are haraam to eat.

I hope the above clarifies the confusion.

Wassalaam

Mustafa