isithalal.food

Is Rabbit Halal?

It depends on what the label says.

Halal if verified
Medium confidence About this ruling

About this ruling

Condition
Verify the product or supplier in hand
Evidence confidence
Medium means the sources are named, but they do not pin the evidence to a specific market or product. Use this page as orientation, then read the pack in your hand.
How we score High, Medium, and Low

Reviewed

Rabbit is permitted in all four Sunni schools of law.

Next step Rabbit is a Halal species in all four Sunni schools, so the question is slaughter. Buy rabbit from a Halal butcher or with a Halal mark, as you would lamb or chicken. How to verify
Scan a label

How to verify

  1. Rabbit is a permitted species; check the slaughter, as for any land meat.
  2. Buy from a Halal butcher or a pack with a Halal mark.
  3. In restaurants, ask how the rabbit was slaughtered and check marinades for wine.

Quick checks

  • Species: permitted in all four schools.
  • Slaughter: must be Islamic, as for any land meat.
  • Check marinades for wine.

What decides the answer

  • Islamically slaughtered rabbit

    Halal

  • Rabbit species

    permitted in all four Sunni schools

  • Rabbit of unknown slaughter

    check, as for any land meat

Why this ruling

Rabbit meat is eaten in stews, roasts and rice dishes. Unlike some animals, its status as a species is not in dispute.

A permitted species

Islamic Portal states that rabbit "is permissible to eat according to all four schools of thought", citing a standard work from each school.[2] The evidence is a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari: Anas caught a rabbit at Marr al-Zahran, Abu Talhah slaughtered it and sent its thighs to the Prophet, "who accepted it".[2] IslamWeb adds that "no one from Muslim scholars opposed this ruling".[1]

The slaughter

Like goat or chicken, rabbit is Halal when it is slaughtered Islamically. A permitted species doesn't make every rabbit on sale Halal, so buy from a Halal butcher or look for a Halal mark.

Where you'll find it

  • Stews and braises
  • Roast or grilled rabbit
  • Rabbit in rice and paella

Frequently asked questions

Is rabbit Halal?
Yes, as a species. All four Sunni schools permit it, and in Sahih al-Bukhari the Prophet accepted the thighs of a rabbit Abu Talhah had slaughtered. The meat is Halal when the rabbit is slaughtered Islamically.
Did the Prophet eat rabbit?
In the hadith of Anas in Sahih al-Bukhari, Abu Talhah slaughtered a rabbit Anas had caught and sent its thighs to the Prophet, who accepted them.

Scholarly view

The permission rests on the hadith of Anas in Sahih al-Bukhari, in which the Prophet accepted the thighs of a rabbit slaughtered by Abu Talhah. Islamic Portal cites the standard references of each school, al-Mabsut and Bada'i al-Sana'i for the Hanafis, al-Mudawwanah for the Malikis, al-Majmu' for the Shafi'is and al-Mughni for the Hanbalis, for its permissibility. The open question is the same as for any land animal: whether this rabbit was slaughtered Islamically.

Sources

Named Islamic, certifier, manufacturer, and regulatory sources used on this page. Inline markers like [1] jump here. Retrieval dates show when we last checked the live URL. Editorial methodology.

Islamic / scriptural

  1. Eating rabbit (Fatwa 84598)

    IslamWeb Retrieved

    'Eating a rabbit is permissible, and it is proved in Sahihain that' the Prophet and his companions ate its meat. 'Rabbit is Halal and no one from Muslim scholars opposed this ruling.'

  2. Is it permissible to eat rabbits?

    Islamic Portal (via IslamQA.org) Retrieved

    'It is permissible to eat rabbits according to all four schools of thought (al-Mabsut 11: 230; Tuhfah al-Fuqaha 3: 65; Bada'i al-Sana'i 5: 39; al-Mudawwanah 1: 541; al-Majmu' 9: 10; al-Mughni 9: 412).' Quotes Anas: 'I caught it, and brought it to Abu Talhah who slaughtered it and sent both its hips, or he said, both its thighs to the Prophet who accepted it' (Sahih al-Bukhari 5535).

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