Islamic Manual

Halal and haram animals

Which land animals, birds, and water creatures are halal to eat, which are haram, and the rules for offspring, milk and eggs.

Not every animal is halal to eat. Allah has told us which ones are allowed and which are not.

Land animals

  1. Pigs and donkeys are always haram.
  2. Animals that eat grass and do not hunt (like camels, goats, sheep, cows, buffaloes, and deer) are halal.
  3. Horses are makrūh: better not eaten, though not fully haram.
  4. Animals that hunt with their teeth (like lions, wolves, foxes, cats, dogs, and monkeys) are haram.
  5. Rats, moles and weasels are haram, but rabbits are halal.
  6. Tiny creatures with no blood, like flies, spiders and ants, are haram, except locusts, which are halal.
  7. Snakes, lizards and chameleons are haram.

Birds

  1. Birds that eat seeds and do not hunt (like sparrows, pigeons, quails and parrots) are halal.
  2. Birds that hunt with their claws (like eagles, falcons and hawks) are haram.
  3. Birds that eat only dead animals, like vultures, are haram.

Water animals

  1. Fish are halal, even if they die on their own in the water.
  2. A fish that dies without being hurt and just floats up (called taffi) is haram.
  3. Frogs, crabs, crocodiles and turtles are haram.

Some animals are definitely ḥarām on the basis of the Qurʼan and hadith, such as pigs and domesticated donkeys. The animals below are grouped by kind, with the halal and haram exceptions inside each group.

Halal and haram animals, by kind
Animal or group Ruling
Pigs and domesticated donkeys Ḥarām
Bloodless insects and small creatures: flies, mosquitoes, spiders, crickets, scorpions, fireflies, ants Ḥarām
Locusts Ḥalāl
Animals with blood but no flowing blood: snakes, lizards, chameleons Ḥarām
Burrowing animals: rats, moles, weasels Ḥarām
Rabbits Ḥalāl
Water animals other than fish: frogs, crabs, crocodiles, turtles Ḥarām
Fish, even if they die of themselves, including bam fish and black fish Ḥalāl
A fish that dies unharmed and floats to the surface (taffi) Ḥarām
Grass-eating land animals that do not hunt: camels, goats, sheep, cows, oxen, buffaloes, deer, antelope Ḥalāl
Horses Makrūh
Seed-eating birds that do not hunt: sparrows, pigeons, partridges, quails, crows, herons, minas, parrots Ḥalāl
Predatory animals that hunt with their teeth: lions, wolves, foxes, leopards, cheetahs, cats, dogs, monkeys, apes, bears, jackals, badgers Ḥarām
Birds of prey that hunt with their claws: eagles, falcons, hawks, vultures, other raptors Ḥarām
Scavenger birds that eat only dead animals: vultures, condors Ḥarām

There is disagreement over shrimp: some hold it halal, treating it as a fish, while others hold it makrūh.

Certain animals are ḥarām by the explicit text of the Qurʼan and hadith: pigs and domesticated donkeys foremost among them. Beyond these, permissibility is organised by kind: whether the creature has flowing blood, whether it hunts or grazes, and, for birds, whether it takes prey with its claws or lives on carrion.

Halal and haram animals, by kind
Animal or group Ruling
Pigs and domesticated donkeys Ḥarām
Bloodless insects and small creatures: flies, mosquitoes, spiders, crickets, scorpions, fireflies, ants Ḥarām
Locusts Ḥalāl
Animals possessing blood but no flowing blood: snakes, lizards, chameleons Ḥarām
Burrowing animals: rats, moles, weasels Ḥarām
Rabbits Ḥalāl
Aquatic animals other than fish: frogs, crabs, crocodiles, turtles Ḥarām
Fish, even dying of themselves, bam fish and black fish included Ḥalāl
A fish dying unharmed and found floating (ṭāfī) Ḥarām
Grass-eating land animals that neither hunt nor injure with their teeth: camels, goats, sheep, cows, oxen, buffaloes, deer, antelope Ḥalāl
Horses Makrūh
Seed-eating birds that neither hunt nor injure with their claws: sparrows, pigeons, partridges, quails, crows, herons, minas, parrots Ḥalāl
Predatory animals that hunt or injure with their teeth: lions, wolves, foxes, leopards, cheetahs, cats, dogs, monkeys, apes, bears, jackals, badgers Ḥarām
Birds of prey that hunt or injure with their claws: eagles, falcons, hawks, vultures, other raptors Ḥarām
Scavenger birds subsisting only on carrion: vultures, condors Ḥarām

Shrimp is a point of disagreement: some jurists count it as fish and rule it ḥalāl; others hold it makrūh.

Terms on this page

taffi

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