Sharʿi Ruling on Eating Sand Lizard, Porcupine, Locust, Rabbit, and Clay
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ﴾ [Al-Aʿrāf: 157]
"He ﷺ makes lawful for them the pure things and prohibits for them the impure things."
From this, we learn that apart from the explicitly prohibited items, everything that is pure (ṭayyib) is ḥalāl, and everything impure (khabīth) is ḥarām.
Ruling: Permissible to eat.
Evidence: It was eaten from the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ dining spread, and he did not prohibit it, though he himself did not eat it.
Ḥadīth: Ḥaḍrat Khālid ibn al-Walīd (رضي الله عنه) said:
"فَأَكَلْتُهُ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ يَنْظُرُ"
"I ate it while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was looking on."
[Al-Bukhārī: 5537, Muslim: 1943]
Ruling: Permissible to eat.
Evidence: No authentic proof exists for its prohibition.
The narration in which the Prophet ﷺ allegedly said:
"خَبِيثَةٌ مِنَ الْخَبَائِثِ"
"It is from the impure things" is weak.
[Weak: Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd: 814, Abū Dāwūd: 3799, Aḥmad: 2/381]
Ruling: Permissible to eat.
Ḥadīth: ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Awfā (رضي الله عنه) said:
"غَزَوْنَا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ سَبْعَ غَزَوَاتٍ أَوْ سِتًّا كُنَّا نَأْكُلُ مَعَهُ الْجَرَادَ"
"We participated in six or seven battles with the Prophet ﷺ, and we used to eat locusts with him."
[Al-Bukhārī: 5495, Muslim: 3610]
Ruling: Permissible to eat.
Ḥadīth: Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
They hunted a rabbit, and Abū Ṭalḥah (رضي الله عنه) slaughtered it and sent its two thighs to the Prophet ﷺ, and he accepted them.
[Al-Bukhārī: 5535, Aḥmad: 1/332, Ibn Ḥibbān: 12/5646]
Ruling: Discouraged / Prohibited due to harm.
While there is no explicit prohibition in Qur’an or Sunnah for eating clay, it is physically harmful to the human body.
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ﴾ [Al-Nisāʾ: 29]
"Do not kill yourselves."
Thus, consuming it is not permissible because it causes harm.
Conclusion:
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Qur’anic Basis
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ﴾ [Al-Aʿrāf: 157]
"He ﷺ makes lawful for them the pure things and prohibits for them the impure things."
From this, we learn that apart from the explicitly prohibited items, everything that is pure (ṭayyib) is ḥalāl, and everything impure (khabīth) is ḥarām.
1. Sand Lizard (Ḍabb / Sāṇḍa)
Ruling: Permissible to eat.Evidence: It was eaten from the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ dining spread, and he did not prohibit it, though he himself did not eat it.
Ḥadīth: Ḥaḍrat Khālid ibn al-Walīd (رضي الله عنه) said:
"فَأَكَلْتُهُ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ يَنْظُرُ"
"I ate it while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was looking on."
[Al-Bukhārī: 5537, Muslim: 1943]
2. Porcupine (Qunfudh / Sīyah)
Ruling: Permissible to eat.Evidence: No authentic proof exists for its prohibition.
The narration in which the Prophet ﷺ allegedly said:
"خَبِيثَةٌ مِنَ الْخَبَائِثِ"
"It is from the impure things" is weak.
[Weak: Ḍaʿīf Abī Dāwūd: 814, Abū Dāwūd: 3799, Aḥmad: 2/381]
3. Locust (Jarād)
Ruling: Permissible to eat.Ḥadīth: ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Awfā (رضي الله عنه) said:
"غَزَوْنَا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ سَبْعَ غَزَوَاتٍ أَوْ سِتًّا كُنَّا نَأْكُلُ مَعَهُ الْجَرَادَ"
"We participated in six or seven battles with the Prophet ﷺ, and we used to eat locusts with him."
[Al-Bukhārī: 5495, Muslim: 3610]
4. Rabbit (Arnab)
Ruling: Permissible to eat.Ḥadīth: Anas ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
They hunted a rabbit, and Abū Ṭalḥah (رضي الله عنه) slaughtered it and sent its two thighs to the Prophet ﷺ, and he accepted them.
[Al-Bukhārī: 5535, Aḥmad: 1/332, Ibn Ḥibbān: 12/5646]
5. Clay / Soil
Ruling: Discouraged / Prohibited due to harm.While there is no explicit prohibition in Qur’an or Sunnah for eating clay, it is physically harmful to the human body.
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ﴾ [Al-Nisāʾ: 29]
"Do not kill yourselves."
Thus, consuming it is not permissible because it causes harm.
Conclusion:
- Halāl: Sand lizard, porcupine, locust, rabbit.
- Not permissible: Clay, due to physical harm.
