Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

ASSALAMUALAIKUM WA RAHMATULLAHI WABARAKATUHU

MY ENGLISH IS POOR, SO I AM TELLING IN URDU.

Q. Imam Shafaee ke FIQAH mein KeKda khana JAYZ hai, MAKROOH hai Ya HARAAM hai?

PLEASE REPLY ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

WASSALAMUALAIKUM WA RAHMATULLAHI WABARAKATUHU

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Answer:

Imam Shafei on crabs

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:It is He (Allah) Who has subjected the sea to your service so that you may get fresh flesh from it to eat and bring out of it articles of ornaments, which you wear.

Abu Hurairah (r.a.) related that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (saws), "O Messenger of Allah, we sail on the ocean and we carry only a little water. If we use it for ablution, we will have to go thirsty. May we use sea water for ablution?" Said the Messenger of Allah (saws), "Its (the sea) water is pure and its dead (animals) are lawful (i.e., they can be eaten without any prescribed slaughtering)."

All the animals that primararily live in water, are halaal for the believers…whether they are caught alive, or dead. Crabs primarily live in water, and are thus absolutely halaal for the believers as food.

In the Shafaei school of thought, all food derived from the sea is absolutely halaal. In the opinion of Imam Shafaei, since the crabs are primarily derived from the sea, he considers their meat as absolutely halaal for the believers.

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