Answered by our Shaykh, the ‘Allāmah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abu ‘Abdirrahmān Yahya bin ‘Ali Al-Hajūri – may Allāh preserve him – on the 13th, Dhūl-Hijjah, 1441H
Question:
What is the ruling on eating turtles and crocodiles?
Answer:
Turtles, are allowed to eat according to the correct opinion due to the statement of Allāh:
(أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَحْرِ وَطَعَامُهُ)
“Lawful to you is the game of the sea and its food,” [Al-Mā’idah, 96]
And the authentic hadith:
هُوَ الطَّهُورُ مَاؤُهُ الْحِلُّ مَيْتَتُه
“It’s water is a purifier and it’s dead is halāl.” [Reported by the Four Sunan]
And crocodiles if it is a sea one, it is halāl due to the previous evidences and if it is a land one then it is harām, as the majority say it is harām, using as a reason that it has sharp teeth with which it hunts prey with, so it enters into the prohibition of the hadith:
نهى النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم عن أَكْلِ كُلِّ ذِي نَابٍ مِنَ السِّبَاعِ
“The Prophet ﷺ prohibited from eating every fanged predator animal.” [Agreed Upon]
So it is known that the land one from it is not allowed and the sea one is allowed to eat as in the aformentioned evidences.
Translated by: Abū ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi
Click on the link to view the Arabic: https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/7516