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What is the ruling on selling skinks and lizards and eating them in Islam, with mention of the legal evidence?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Some scholars consider geckos and lizards to be the same species, while others view them as distinct. The majority of scholars have forbidden the consumption of geckos and lizards due to their foulness and harmfulness, citing Allah's saying: "And He makes lawful for them the good things and makes unlawful for them the evil things." The Prophet also commanded the killing of geckos. Other jurists permit the consumption of some insects if they are slaughtered according to Islamic rites (dhakāh) and are safe from harm, while some forbid them entirely. The sale of insects is subject to the ruling on their permissible utilization.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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