Halal and Haram Food in Islam: What Muslims Can Eat and Why

Halal means permitted and haram means forbidden, and with food the starting point is permission. Quran 2:168 tells people to eat of what is lawful and wholesome on the earth, Quran 2:172 tells believers to eat of the good things provided for them and give thanks, and Quran 7:157 describes the Prophet making good things lawful and forbidding only what is foul.

Between the two lies a middle ground. In Sahih al-Bukhari 52 and Sahih Muslim 1599a, the Prophet says that the lawful and the unlawful are clear, and between them are doubtful matters; whoever avoids them protects his religion and honour. Sahih Muslim 1015 adds that Allah is good and accepts only what is good, and asks how a prayer can be answered when the person's food is unlawful.

Sources: [1] [10] [12] [13] [14]

The Quran names four forbidden foods: carrion, blood, pork and meat dedicated to anything other than Allah. Quran 2:173 says Allah has forbidden only these, and Quran 16:115 repeats the list. Quran 6:145 specifies blood that is poured forth, and Sunan Ibn Majah 3314, graded sahih (Darussalam) on sunnah.com, permits two kinds of blood, the liver and the spleen.

Quran 5:3 explains what counts as carrion: animals strangled, beaten to death, killed by a fall, gored or partly eaten by a wild animal, unless slaughtered while still alive, and animals sacrificed to idols. Pork is forbidden by name in all four verses.

Intoxicating drink is forbidden too. Quran 5:90-91 calls strong drink an infamy of Satan's handiwork that sows enmity and turns people from prayer. Sahih Muslim 2003a records that every intoxicant is khamr and every intoxicant is forbidden, and Sunan Abi Dawud 3681, graded hasan sahih by al-Albani, says that if a large amount intoxicates, a small amount is forbidden.

Necessity is the exception. Quran 2:173, 6:145 and 16:115 excuse someone driven by necessity, neither craving nor transgressing. This concerns genuine need when nothing lawful is available, not convenience; for medical or emergency situations, ask a qualified scholar.

Sources: [2] [4] [9] [15] [6] [16] [17]

Livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats and camels are lawful when properly slaughtered: Quran 5:1 makes the beast of cattle lawful, and Quran 5:4 says all good things are lawful. The Sunnah adds prohibitions. Sahih Muslim 1933a forbids eating any fanged beast of prey, and Sahih Muslim 1934a reports that the Prophet prohibited fanged beasts of prey and birds with talons.

Sahih al-Bukhari 5527 records that the Prophet prohibited the meat of domestic donkeys. The table summarises where scholars agree and differ; the following sections explain each difference.

Sources: [3] [18] [19] [20] [2] [4] [9] [15] [6] [16] [7] [26] [27] [8] [23] [37] [29]

Fish is halal by agreement, and the schools differ over other sea creatures. Quran 5:96 makes lawful the game of the sea and its food, and the Prophet said that the sea's water is pure and what dies in it is lawful (Sunan Abi Dawud 83, graded sahih by al-Albani; Jami at-Tirmidhi 69, graded sahih by Darussalam). Sunan Ibn Majah 3314 permits dead fish, so fish needs no slaughter.

The Hanafi school permits only fish. A SeekersGuidance answer by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani explains that Hanafi jurists read the game of the sea as fish and count crabs and frogs among the foul things of Quran 7:157. Hanafi scholars differ over prawns: that answer holds the soundest Hanafi view to be that shrimp counts as fish and is lawful, and a Darul Ifta Birmingham answer records the difference.

The other schools are broader. The Darul Ifta Birmingham answer states that the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools permit every creature living in the sea, describes Imam Malik's view as similarly broad, and so permits shrimp, lobster and crab on these views. IslamQA, drawing on Hanbali references such as al-Mughni, excludes frogs and crocodiles. Follow your school, and respect those who follow another.

Sources: [7] [21] [22] [15] [26] [27] [28]

Halal slaughter, called dhabihah, means cutting a lawful animal's throat with a sharp blade so that the blood flows, while mentioning Allah's name. Sahih al-Bukhari 5503 records the Prophet saying that if the tool makes the blood gush out and Allah's name is mentioned, eat, but not with a tooth or a nail. Sahih Muslim 1955a adds: when you slaughter, slaughter well, sharpen your blade and let the animal be at ease.

The schools differ on which vessels must be cut; Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam of Darul Iftaa Leicester, writing on SeekersGuidance, says Hanafis require three of the four and Imam Shafi'i the windpipe and gullet. In England, gov.uk guidance requires a Muslim slaughterer for halal meat slaughtered without stunning, cutting both carotid arteries and jugular veins of cattle, sheep and goats.

Quran 6:121 forbids eating that over which Allah's name has not been mentioned, and the schools apply it differently. Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam gives the majority view: deliberate omission makes the meat unlawful, while forgetting is excused, as Hanafi answers from IslamicPortal and MuftiOnline state. A ShafiiFiqh.com article quotes a Maliki text giving the same as the well-known Maliki position, and quotes al-Nawawi that in the Shafi'i school the name is Sunnah, so omission is disliked but the meat stays lawful, unless it was omitted out of contempt.

Sources: [23] [24] [29] [33] [8] [30] [31] [32]

Contemporary scholars and certifiers differ, so it depends on the standard you follow. Gov.uk guidance says animals in England must be stunned unless slaughtered for halal or kosher meat under the religious exemption, and that a significant proportion of halal meat comes from stunned animals, so a halal label alone does not tell you whether the animal was stunned.

The central question is whether the animal is alive when its throat is cut. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta says killing an animal before slaughter makes it unlawful, but subduing it without killing it is permissible. A Shafi'i answer on SeekersGuidance calls stunning itself impermissible because of the pain, holds the meat lawful only if the animal is established to be alive, and advises avoiding stunned chicken where other options exist.

A FatwaCentre answer approved by Mufti Abdur-Rahman Mangera notes that certifiers use different criteria: some permit stunning under conditions meant to keep the animal alive, and others permit none. Ask which certifier your butcher or restaurant uses, read its published policy, and ask your scholar which standard to rely on.

Sources: [33] [34] [35] [36]

Quran 5:5 makes the food of those who received the Scripture lawful for Muslims, and scholars include meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians, but they differ on the conditions. Egypt's Dar al-Ifta reads the verse as a general concession, and in a further fatwa gives the principle as permissibility unless you are certain that the animal was killed without slaughter or that the slaughterer was not a Jew or a Christian.

Others attach stricter conditions. Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam writes that the great majority of jurists require the prescribed method, and that the Hanafi and Hanbali schools also require Allah's name to be mentioned; on that basis he argues against treating ordinary Western supermarket meat as halal. Ask your scholar which view to follow.

In Sahih al-Bukhari 5507, people told the Prophet that recent converts brought them meat without their knowing whether Allah's name had been mentioned, and he told them to mention it themselves and eat. The report concerns uncertainty about the name, not meat known to fail the conditions.

Sources: [5] [37] [34] [29] [25]

Scholars disagree here, mainly over istihalah, the idea that a substance can change so completely that it takes a new ruling, as when wine becomes vinegar. Gelatine from plants or properly slaughtered animals is accepted. For gelatine from pigs or improperly slaughtered animals, IslamQA quotes the medical body IOMS that it is fully transformed and permissible, notes the view that the change is only partial, and concludes that it should not be consumed.

A Shafi'i answer on SeekersGuidance explains that the Shafi'i school limits istihalah to cases named in its texts, so porcine gelatine is impermissible there, whereas the Hanafis, the Malikis and one version of the Hanbali school apply it more widely; it advises consulting local halal bodies.

Darul Ifta Birmingham and SeekersGuidance explain the Hanafi distinction between wine from grapes or dates, forbidden in any amount, and other alcohol, which they permit in products such as vanilla extract when it is not used to intoxicate; SeekersGuidance calls alcohol-free vanilla a recommended caution. IslamQA says alcohol must never be added to food, but that a tiny amount already absorbed without trace in colour, taste or smell does not make it forbidden.

E-numbers identify approved additives. The UK list gives E120 as cochineal or carmines and E471 as mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, naming each additive but not whether it came from plants, animals or synthesis, so check unfamiliar ones with the manufacturer or a certifier.

Sources: [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]

Eating with non-Muslims is not a problem in itself; the question is what is on the plate. A SeekersGuidance Hanafi answer says you may eat permissible food at a place owned by a non-Muslim, should be cautious where contamination is strongly possible, and should ask staff about their procedures when in doubt.

Vegetarian and fish dishes are the usual choice when meat is not certified, but watch for shared fryers and utensils. A Darul Ifta Australia answer says vegetarian food cooked by non-Muslims is permissible unless contamination is known or most probable, and that mere doubt is disregarded.

• Read ingredient lists for pork, lard, gelatine, wine and other alcohol.
• For meat, ask who certifies it and whether that certifier accepts stunning.
• In restaurants, ask whether fryers, grills and utensils are shared.
• When unsure, choose fish or vegetarian dishes and ask about stock and sauces.
• Where doubt remains, leave it, as Sahih al-Bukhari 52 teaches, and ask a scholar or certifier.

Sources: [44] [45] [12]

Questions readers often ask

Put this into practice