
The general consensus among Islamic scholars is that shrimp is Halal. This is because of the prophet, peace be upon him, responded to this question by saying “Its water is pure (for the purpose of purification rites) and its fish is lawful for you to eat.” (Sunan e Abi Dawood)
What does Shaikh Ahmad Kutty Say About Shrimp Being Halal?
Shaikh Ahmad Kutty is a known Islamic scholar and is currently a senior resident at the Islamic Institute of Toronto (source). He was asked about this on aboutislam.net and he assured the readers that eating shirmp is halal. Here’s what he had to say:
Allah Almighty says, “The game of the sea and its food are lawful unto you.” (Al-Ma’idah 5:96)
Since neither Allah nor His Messenger excluded any type of fish from this permission (and we know for a fact that “Allah is never forgetful”), the vast majority of scholars hold the view that all varieties of fish found in water (which includes the sea, lakes, rivers, ponds, wells, etc.) are lawful for us to consume.
The wording here is general and it should be applied generally. Furthermore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the sea, and his reply was, “Its water is pure (for the purpose of purification rites) and its fish is lawful for you to eat.” (Abu Dawud)
This was the view of imams such as Malik, Ash-Shafi`i and Ahmad. It is also the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifah and his two foremost disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, with regard to all types of fish, including shellfish.
Shaikh Ahmad Kutty (source)
Shaikh Assim Al Hakeem Also Agrees That Eating Shrimp Is Halal
Shaikh Assim Al Hakeem, graduated from Umm al-Qura University in Makkah and is an Imam of a masjid in Jeddah, said that unless Allah mentions a specific food from the quran to be haram, then it is safe to assume that is Halal.
He also mentions that there are foods that are obviously haram. This includes foods that were not slaughtered in accordance to Islamic guidelines. He also states that eating unique animals such as dogs are haram. (Learn more about whether dogs are considered haram or not)
Here’s a snippet of him discussing this matter on live TV.
Mufti Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Confirms That Eating Shrimps is Halal
Mufti Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf assures listeners on a YouTube video that shrimp is permissible to consume in Islam and is Halal.
He does point out that Hanifis are the only group that have an issue with shrimp and claim that eating Shrimp is not Halal. This is because this school of Islam believes that because of the recent research that classifies shrimp not as fish, but as crustacean. Therefore because it is not a fish, it is not halal.
Here’s his full explanation:
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, you should always do as much research as you can to reach your own conclusion. However, based on the evidence we found, eating shrimp is permissible and halal in Islam. As for people under the Hanifi school of Islam, it may not be so black and white as per Mufti Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf’s explanation.
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