Source: Excerpt from the book “Aḥkām wa Masāʾil: In the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah” by Shaykh Mubashshir Ahmad Rabbānī ḥafiẓahullāh
❖ Question:
Is rabbit meat halal or haram?
Most members of my household follow the Ja‘fari sect and claim that the rabbit resembles a cat in its shape and voice, and since the cat is haram, the rabbit is also haram.
❖ Answer:
According to the Qur’an and Sunnah, there is no evidence that deems rabbit haram.
In fact, rabbit is a halal animal, and there is no aspect of it that would render it impermissible.
❖ Relevant Hadiths:
The Prophet ﷺ has prohibited carnivorous animals with fangs and birds with talons.
◉ Hadith:
”نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَنْ كُلِّ ذِي نَابٍ مِنَ السِّبَاعِ وَكُلِّ ذِي مِخْلَبٍ مِنَ الطَّيْرِ”
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the eating of all predatory animals with fangs and birds with talons.”
☛ Rabbit is not a predatory animal nor does it tear flesh — hence, it does not fall under this prohibition.
❖ Example from the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions:
◉ Hadith of Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه):
“We once chased a rabbit at a place called Marr Ẓahrān. The people ran after it but gave up due to exhaustion. I caught it and brought it to Abu Ṭalḥah (رضي الله عنه), who slaughtered it and sent its haunches (thighs) to the Prophet ﷺ, and the Prophet ﷺ accepted it.”
Anas (رضي الله عنه) further confirmed:
“Yes, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ate from it.”
❖ Consensus of the Scholars:
Imām al-Qasṭallānī (رحمه الله), in his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, stated:
“All four major Imams (Abū Ḥanīfah, Mālik, Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad) agree that rabbit is ḥalāl.”
❖ Addressing the Objection: “Rabbit Experiences Menstruation”
It is narrated that a villager once said he saw signs of menstruation in a rabbit, and thus assumed it was haram. The Prophet ﷺ explicitly rejected this notion:
◉ Hadith:
“A Bedouin brought roasted rabbit and bread to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
‘I saw it bleed like menstruation.’
The Prophet ﷺ said to his companions:
“Eat it, there is no harm.”
Then he told the man himself to eat it, but the man replied, ‘I am fasting.’
The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘What kind of fast?’ He replied, ‘The fast of three days a month.’
The Prophet ﷺ then advised: ‘Then fast the white days — the 13th, 14th, and 15th.’”
☛ Thus, the Prophet ﷺ himself dismissed the objection regarding menstruation and declared rabbit permissible.
❖ Refuting the Analogy with the Cat
Claiming that rabbit is haram due to its resemblance to a cat — whether in appearance or sound — is not valid. This is a subjective analogy, and:
✔ Islamic rulings are based on revelation (naṣṣ),
❌ not on assumptions or similarities.
Many halal things may resemble haram ones in some features — resemblance does not change legal status.
❖ Conclusion:
✔ Rabbit is ḥalāl.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ consumed it.
✔ All four schools of thought agree on its permissibility.
❌ Basing prohibition on analogy with cats or unfounded claims (like menstruation) is baseless in Sharīʿah.
And Allah knows best.
