Are crabs ḥalāl to eat?

Question

اسلام علیکم

Are Crabs Halal or Haram to consume.

— Muhammad Sadaan Ali, Toronto, Canada

Answer

Wa `Alaykum al-Salām

It is ḥarām to consume crabs. ‘A`lā Ḥaḍrat, ‘Imām ‘Aḥmad Riḍā’ stated in Fatāwā Riḍawīyah:

سرطان کھانا حرام ہے

“Eating crab is ḥarām.” (Fatāwā Riḍawīyah, Vol. 24, pg. 208)

Muftī ‘Amjad `Alī ‘A`ẓamī states in Bahār-e-Sharī`at:

پانی کے جانوروں میں صرف مچھلی حلال ہے

“Only the fish are ḥalāl among aquatic animals” (Bahār-e-Sharī`at, Vol.15, pg. 326)

All of the animals that inhabit the water and aren’t classified as fish are not ḥalāl to consume. A crab is an animal which inhabits the water but it is not classified as a fish, rather, a crab is classified as a crustacean, and Allāh knows best.

Faqīr `Usmān al-‘Amjadī · (may he be forgiven) · Ramaḍān 11, 1445 AH

Verified by Muftī Zāhid Ḥussain al-Qādirī