Is it permissible to eat whales?
Question
Assalumualaikum,
Is it permissible to consume whales?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykumwa-rahmatullāhiwa-barakātuh.
According to the HanafiMazhab, it is only permissible to eat from the ocean all aquatic creatures which are classified as Samak (fish). A fish is classified as any aquatic creature possessing a “backbone/vertebrae”.
Whale (origin Old English hwæl from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz) is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea.[1]Whales are mammals. They are more closely related to humans than to the many fish and creatures which they share the oceans with. Like us, they are warm blooded, give birth to live young and they suckle their young. [2]
It is not permissible for one to consume whale meat since it does not fall under the definition of a fish.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Ismail Desai,
Darul Iftaa
Durban, South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale, last accessed at 19/09/2013
[2]http://www.whalesalive.org.au/aboutwhales.html, last accessed at 19/09/2013
- Answered by
- Mufti Ismail Desai
- Checked & approved by
- Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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