Dear Mufti Ebrahim Saheb,
1. Is it halal to consume Shark Fin? 2. Someone asked my husband to sell Shark fin for him. Is it permissible to sell this Shark fin?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Sister in Islam,
According to the Hanafi Mazhab, it is only permissible to eat from the ocean all aquatic creatures which are classified as fish. A fish is classified as any aquatic creature possessing a “backbone/vertebrae”.
Sharks are categorized as “Subphylum Vertebrata”[1]of the “Chondrichthyes” sub-class[2]. Therefore, since sharks possess a “backbone/vertebrae”, it is classified as a fish, hence, it is permissible to consume shark including the fin.
It is permissible for one to sell shark fin.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Moulana Ismail Desai,
Student Darul Iftaa
Durban, South Africa
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
[1] http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/classification/index.shtml, link accessed at 01/05/2012.
[2] http://www.earthlife.net/inverts/vertebrata.html, link accessed at 01/05/2012.