Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

I am a bohra muslim , i want to ask you that is it not permissible to eat fish without been slaughter, though its method of slaughtring is slighty different from other animals , please explain why it is different from other muslim sects, is there any authentic hadith or verse from quran to support the argumement. 

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Answer:

Bohra fish haraam

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 14:

14 It is He Who has made the sea subject that ye may eat thereof flesh that is fresh and tender, and that ye may extract therefrom ornaments to wear.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chaptet 35 Surah Fatir verse 12:

12 Nor are the two bodies of flowing water alike: the one palatable sweet and pleasant to drink and the other salty and bitter. Yet from each (kind of water) do ye eat flesh fresh and tender, and ye extract ornaments to wear; and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves that ye may seek (thus) of the Bounty of Allah that ye may be grateful.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 83 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

A man asked the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him): Messenger of Allah, we travel on the sea and take a small quantity of water with us. If we use this for ablution, we would suffer from thirst. Can we perform ablution with sea water? The Messenger (peace be upon him) replied: Its water is pure and what dies in it is lawful food.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.648 Narrated by Jabir

We set out in the army of Al-Khabt and Abu Ubaida was the commander of the troops. We were struck with severe hunger and the sea threw out a dead fish the like of which we had never seen, and it was called Al-'Anbar. We ate of it for half a month. Abu Ubaida took (and fixed) one of its bones and a rider passed underneath it (without touching it). (Jabir added:) Abu 'Ubaida said (to us), "Eat (of that fish)." When we arrived at Medina, we informed the Prophet (saws) about that, and he said, "Eat, for it is food Allah has brought out for you, and feed us if you have some of it." So some of them gave him (of that fish) and he (saws) ate it.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) termed the sea water pure, and all its food halaal; whether caught alive or dead.

Your Question: I am a bohra muslim , i want to ask you that is it not permissible to eat fish without been slaughter, though its method of slaughtring is slighty different from other animals , please explain why it is different from other muslim sects

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have clearly declared in the Quran and the authentic Sunnah that absolutely all food from the sea are halaal for the believers to consume, regardless whether the game from the sea is caught by a believer or an unbeliever, or whether the game of the sea is caught dead or alive! Unlike the animals of the land which require proper slaughter when they are alive, the Quran or the Sunnah has not prescribed any slaughter for the game of the sea.

Some sects who are ignorant of the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah have declared from themselves that only fish with scales caught alive and duly slaughtered by a believer running his hands through the fish and reciting the blessed Name of Allah upon them when alive are halaal for the believers to consume, and all the other animals of the sea are forbidden and haraam!

Only Allah and His Messenger (saws) have the right to declare a thing halaal or haraam for the believers; and Allah and His Messenger of Allah (saws) has clearly declared the game of the sea halaal for the believers, without any restrictions whatsoever.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 116: But say not for any false thing that your tongues may put forth "This is halaal and this is haraam!", so as to ascribe false things to Allah. For those who ascribe false things to Allah will never prosper.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verse 157: (So, now mercy has been assigned to those) who follow this Messenger, the Gentile Prophet, whose mention they shall find in the Torah and the Gospel with them. He enjoins them to do good and forbids them from evil; he makes pure things halaal for them, and impure things haraam; he relieves them of their burdens and frees them from the shackles (of rites and rituals) that bound them. For this reason, those alone who believe in him, support him, succour him, and follow the Light that has been sent down with him shall attain true ‘success’.

Dear Brother, just as it is a huge sin to declare halaal what Allah and His Messenger (saws) have declared haraam (eg. Swine, wine, intoxicants, etc.); similarly it is a grave to sin to declare forbidden, what Allah and His Messenger have declared halaal for the believers. One should fear Allah Subhanah, and abstain from declaring something haraam, what Allah and His Messenger have clearly declared as lawful.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verse 31: They have made their scholars and their monks as their Rabbs (lords gods) besides Allah!

Unfortunately most if not all of our brethren from the Bohra sect unconditionally obey their ‘High Priests’ and their ‘clergy’ regarding their determination of the ‘haraam’ and the ‘halaal’, regardless of what is declared in the Quran and the Sunnah.

Narrated Hadrat Adi ibn Hatim (r.a.), who was formerly a Christian that when he came to the Messenger of Allah (saws) with the intention of understanding Islam, he asked him (saws) regarding the verse of the Quran 9:31: ‘They have made their scholars and their monks as their Rabbs (lords gods) besides Allah!’. Adi said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws), this verse accuses us of making our scholars and our monks as our ‘Rabbs’ besides Allah, but we do not do so!’. The Messenger of Allah (saws) asked: ‘Is it not a fact that you accept as ‘haraam’ what they declare ‘haraam’, and ‘halaal’ what they declare as ‘halaal’?’ Adi confessed: ‘Yes, we do.’ The Messenger of Allah (saws) then said: ‘What is that other than making them your ‘Rabbs’ besides Allah?’

Beloved Brother, only Allah and His Messenger (saws) have the absolute sole right to declare what is halaal for the believers and what is haraam. Allah and His Messenger (saws) have unconditionally and clearly declared all food from the sea as ‘halaal’ for the believers, and none in creation has a right to declare ‘haraam’ what Allah and His Messenger (saws) have declared ‘halaal’.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan