The Creed of Compassion-Islamic Teachings & Answering Doctrinal Misconceptions

Issue No. 2248- If a fish is caught alive from water and dies out of water, it is ṭāhir and halal, and if it dies in the trap in water, it is halal too.

Issue No. 2250- It is not necessary for a person catching a fish to be Muslim or to utter the name of Allah while catching it. However, it should be known that it has been caught alive from water or died after it has been trapped in the net.

Issue No. 2251- If a fish is bought from Muslim markets or is given by a Muslim hand, it is halal, though it may not be known whether it was caught alive from water or not; and it is not necessary to investigate about it. However, if it is bought from an unbeliever, and it is not known whether or not it was caught alive from water, it is haram.

Issue No. 2252- It is not permissible as an obligatory precaution to eat small living fishes, except for treatment in cases of emergency.

Issue No. 2253- It is better that one does not roast the fish before it dies completely.

Issue No. 2254- If a fish is cut into two parts out of water, and one part of it falls into water while it is alive and dies, it is not permissible to eat the part which has remained out of water as an obligatory precaution.

Issue No. 2255- Prawn which is also called shrimp is a halal sea animal. However, it is haram to eat land animals similar to fish that some may use the term ‘fish’ for, like some species of skink, unless for treatment in cases of emergency.

Issue No. 2256- It is halal to eat the meat of animals like, cow, sheep, domestic camels, as well as the meat of wild cows, sheep, goats, donkeys and deer. However, it is makrūh to eat the meat of horses, mules and donkeys. It is haram to eat the meat of predatory animals in general, and also the meat of elephants, rabbits and insects.

Issue No. 2257- It is haram to eat the meat of birds with claws and also birds whose gliding is more than the flapping of their wings. However, those birds whose flapping while flying is more than their gliding are halal to eat including all kinds of pigeons, ring-doves and partridges but it is makrūh to eat the meat of hoopoes. Also, birds with a craw or spur on their foot are also halal to eat.

Issue No. 2259- The following fourteen parts of halal meat animals, are haram to eat, albeit as an obligatory precaution in some of them:1- Blood2- Male reproductive organs3- Female reproductive organs 4- Womb 5- Glands6- Testicles7- Pituitary gland [1]8- the spinal cord9- The two wide (yellow) nerves which are on both sides of the spinal cord10- Gall bladder11- Spleen12- Urinary bladder13- Pupils14- A part which is in the middle of the hoofs of the animal.The aforementioned body parts are found in large animals, but in small ones like sparrows, if some of these things are not distinguishable or separable, there is no harm in eating them.

Issue No. 2261- It is haram to eat dirt and mud. However, there is no harm in taking a small quantity (less than a pea) of the turbah of Imam al-Husayn (as) for the purpose of healing. It is also permissible to take Dāghestānī or Armenian clay as a medicine if there is no other alternative.

Issue No. 2262- It is haram to eat or drink anything which is significantly harmful to one’s health. Smoking cigarettes and other kinds of tobacco products especially narcotics is also haram whether it be in the form of injecting, smoking, taking or using it in any other way. Similarly, it is haram to produce, buy and sell them or help in the spread of such things. It is obligatory on people who are addicted to cigarettes or narcotics to try for addiction treatment.