Eating animals from sea in Zaydi madhhab

wa alaykum as salaam.

Thank you for your question! This refers to those animals that resemble haraam land animals in look and name. One example is sea turtles. Also, there are some animals whose names in Arabic resemble land animals, like sea snakes (hanish al-maa). Since it is haraam to eat land snakes, it is haraam to eat sea snakes.

As for the seafood prohibited to eat, it is basically those sea animals without fish and scales, similar to the Hanafis.

And Allah knows best!

IRS

Thank you for your question!

Do you mean the reason that Allah prohibited it or the proof for such prohibition? As for the reason why seafood is prohibited, we can't really say as I do not know of any reason stated in the Quran, Prophetic Sunnah or statement of the the ımams (as). It could be health concerns because most sea animals excepting fish with scales and fins tend to be bottom feeders of other fish or such animals like clams tend to have higher concentrations of harmful chemicals. But this is just conjecture.

As for the proof, we have a narration on the authorities of Zaadhaan and Maisira that Imam 'Ali (as) prohibited catfish eel, dead fish floating and sea serpents. This necessitates that any animals that are similar to them in not having scales and fins are similarly prohibited, with the exception of whale which is permissible. Also, the prohibition of eating dogs, pigs, snakes and other land animals also applies to their sea equivalents because the prohibition is absolute. In Arabic, there are animals known as "sea dogs" and "sea pigs."

One may say that Allah says: {Permitted for you is water game and what the sea brings forth...} (Q. 5:96). They say that this verse permits all types of sea animals as food. However, this is a misreading and misinterpretation of the verse. The context of the verse makes the meaning clear. The Pickthall translation of the verse is as follows: {To hunt and to eat the fish of the sea (sayd al-bahr) is made lawful for you, a provision for you and for seafarers; but to hunt on land (sayd al-barr) is forbidden you so long as ye are on the pilgrimage. Be mindful of your duty to Allah, unto Whom ye will be gathered.} Notice the part {To hunt and to eat the fish of the sea}. No where does it state that all sea animals are halaal. Even later in the same verse, it says: {but to hunt on land is forbidden you so long as ye are on the pilgrimage}. The context of the verse denotes that it is permissible to fish while on the pilgrimage but it is not allowed to hunt land animals. That's it. The Yusuf Ali translation similarly translates the verse as: {Lawful to you is the pursuit of water-game and its use for food,- for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel; but forbidden is the pursuit of land-game;- as long as ye are in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim garb. And fear Allah, to Whom ye shall be gathered back}. The {pursuit} refers to the hunting.

If we were to interpret sayd al-bahr to mean all types of sea animals, then we would be forced to interpret sayd al-barr to mean all types of land animals. However, this is not the case. Just as there are halaal and haraam land animals, there are similarly halaal and haraam sea animals.

As for the hadith where the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said of the sea ((Its water is pure and its carcass is halaal)), this cannot be used as a proof for the absolute permissibility of all seafood because of the keyword he used. He said: ((...ıts maytata is halaal)) and not "...its meat is halaal." As you know, the word mayta refers to dead carrion not slaughtered according to slicing the aorta or not by a Muslim. Therefore, it refers to fish that are killed without slicing the aorta or not by a Muslim. This is opposed to dead carrion on the land. If a Muslim finds a permissible land animal, it is impermissible to eat it without slicing the aorta or if it was killed by a non-Muslim, but if a Muslim finds a fish, it is permissible to eat without slicing the aorta or without it being killed by a non-Muslim. Therefore, this hadith cannot be used to prove the absolute permissibility of all seafood.

And Allah knows best!

IRS