IS STONE CRAB HALAL TO EAT?
وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ
Meaning: “And he made all pleasant things lawful for them, and forbidden all wicked things.”
(Surah al-A`raf: 157)
Many people are still wary of stone crabs. Is it safe to eat this stone crab? Why is it banned to consume because of its dual nature? Let’s talk about it together.
Animals are classified into two types: land animals and marine animals. Sea life is an animal that lives within it, and when it exits, its existence is similar to that of a killed animal. (See, for example, al-Mu’tamad fi al-Fiqh al-Syafie, 2/547.)
Unless there is a scripture prohibiting or harming sea animals, they are all halal to consume.
Stone crabs, on the other hand, exist in two worlds; in the water or on land. It won’t return to the ocean for weeks one its on land. As a result, any animal that can only live in the sea (water) or when it comes out of the water, its life is like that a slaughtered animal, and the law allows it to be eaten, regardless of its condition or what is ascribed to it (water life).
If the animal does not tend to either of the two (water or land), the law treats it as a land animal and it is not halal to consume it unless after slaughter, if it is included in the animals that can be killed. Otherwise, the verdict is haram (eating it).
As a result, we are inclined to believe that crabs are among the creatures that are permissible to consume as long as there is no legislation that explicitly prohibits it and it is not hazardous. Looking back at the ideas of the academics who outlawed it, we can see that it is forbidden for two reasons: it is hazardous (poisonous) and regarded unpleasant.
