Detailed Review of Ḥalāl and Ḥarām Items in Light of Qur’an and Sunnah
Basic Principle
The original rule in all things is permissibility; only that is ḥarām which Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have declared ḥarām, and that which they remained silent about is pardoned.
Definition:
- Aṭʿimah (foods) is plural of ṭaʿām, meaning anything that is eaten or drunk.
- As in the Qur’an: ﴿وَمَن لَّمْ يَطْعَمْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 249] — “Whoever does not taste it is from me.”
Sharʿi Proofs for Permissibility
① ﴿خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 29]
“He created for you all that is in the earth.”
② ﴿وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا﴾ [Al-Aʿrāf: 31]
“Eat and drink but do not be excessive.”
③ ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُوا مِمَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 168]
“O mankind! Eat from what is in the earth, ḥalāl and pure.”
④ ﴿وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ﴾ [Al-Aʿrāf: 157]
“He makes pure things lawful for them and forbids them the impure.”
⑤ Ḥadīth:
“كُلْ وَاشْرَبْ وَالْبَسْ وَتَصَدَّقْ مِنْ غَيْرِ سَرَفٍ وَلَا مَخِيلَةٍ“
“Eat, drink, wear clothes, and give charity without extravagance or pride.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 2904; Al-Nasāʾī: 2559; Aḥmad: 2/181]
Ways to Determine “Impurity” (Khubth)
❶ Explicit declaration in Sharīʿah (e.g., domestic donkey).
❷ Defined category in a text (e.g., “every predator with fangs, every bird with talons”).
❸ Known impurity by nature (e.g., mice, snakes).
❹ Ordered to kill or prohibited from killing (e.g., kite, frog).
❺ Known carrion-eating animal (e.g., vulture).
❻ Born from mixed ḥalāl and ḥarām parents — majority ruling applied.
❼ Temporary impurity (e.g., jallālah animals).
❽ Harmful to health (e.g., poison).
❾ Damaging to intellect (e.g., alcohol, intoxicants).
❿ Illegally slaughtered (e.g., slaughtered for other than Allah).
If These Signs Are Absent
If none of the above applies, the item remains ḥalāl.
General Guidelines from Ḥadīth
- Ḥaḍrat Salmān al-Fārsī (رضي الله عنه):
“The ḥalāl is what Allah made ḥalāl in His Book, the ḥarām is what Allah made ḥarām in His Book, and what He remained silent about is pardoned.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 2715; Al-Tirmidhī: 1716] - Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Dardāʾ (رضي الله عنه):
“What Allah made ḥalāl in His Book is ḥalāl, what He made ḥarām is ḥarām, and what He left unmentioned is pardoned, so accept Allah’s pardon.”
[Ḥasan: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: 10/171] - Ḥaḍrat Abū Thaʿlabah (رضي الله عنه):
“Allah has prescribed obligations, so do not neglect them; set boundaries, so do not transgress them; and remained silent on some things out of mercy for you, so do not seek them out.”
[Al-Dāraqutnī: 4/183]
Explicitly Prohibited Items in Qur’an
- Dead meat (murdār — natural death).
- Blood (dam masfūḥ — flowing blood).
- Pork (all parts, not just meat).
- Anything dedicated to other than Allah.
- Strangled to death.
- Killed by blunt force.
- Fallen from a height.
- Gored by horns.
- Partially eaten by a predator (unless slaughtered while still alive).
- Sacrificed at pagan altars.
- Fortune-telling by arrows.
Exception: In extreme hunger (without intent to sin), it is permissible to consume.
Another Qur’anic List
Confirms prohibition of:
- Dead meat.
- Flowing blood.
- Pork.
- Anything dedicated to other than Allah.
Note from Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله)
The majority opinion of the four imams is that a person in dire necessity is obliged to eat from the dead meat to save his life.
[Al-Ikhtiyārāt al-Fiqhiyyah, p. 464]
