Is there a marine creature that is forbidden to eat, and is eating snakes (al-afʿā, al-thuʿbān) permissible or forbidden?
The apparent meaning of the texts from the Quran and Sunnah is that all sea animals are permissible, based on the Almighty's saying: "Permitted for you is game from the sea and its food," and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying about the sea: "Its water is pure, and its dead are lawful." Some scholars have disliked eating what is called sea pig, sea human, sea dog, and sea snake. However, the more authoritative opinion is that eating all of these is permissible as long as there is no harm in them, because the prohibition specifically applies to the land pig. As for snakes, the majority of scholars have ruled that eating them is forbidden, while the Malikis have permitted eating them on condition that their venom is harmless.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/93524