The ruling on killing live fish by striking their heads at the time of sale
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: I have shops for selling fish, and there are live fish in tanks. When a customer asks for some, I put the fish on the scale while it is still alive, then we place it in a bag. The worker strikes the head of the fish while it is inside the bag until it dies, and then it is cleaned. This is because these fish usually remain alive for about an hour or two outside the water, and the customer is in a hurry and does not wait. Is this method permissible or not?
Answer:
This action is not permissible. When a fish comes out of the water, it dies naturally and does not need to be killed; it should be left until it dies and not struck, because some scholars hold that if it dies due to a cause, it is not lawful, such as the Hanafis. It is only lawful if it dies of its own accord without being struck. This is what is lawful by consensus. As for what dies due to a cause, this is a matter of disagreement among scholars. Furthermore, striking it involves torment, and this is not permissible. One should leave it until it dies naturally. What is the desire for it? One should leave it until it dies naturally.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: I have shops for selling fish, and there are live fish in tanks. When a customer asks for some, I put the fish on the scale while it is still alive, then we place it in a bag. The worker strikes the head of the fish while it is inside the bag until it dies, and then it is cleaned. This is because these fish usually remain alive for about an hour or two outside the water, and the customer is in a hurry and does not wait. Is this method permissible or not?
Answer:
This action is not permissible. When a fish comes out of the water, it dies naturally and does not need to be killed; it should be left until it dies and not struck, because some scholars hold that if it dies due to a cause, it is not lawful, such as the Hanafis. It is only lawful if it dies of its own accord without being struck. This is what is lawful by consensus. As for what dies due to a cause, this is a matter of disagreement among scholars. Furthermore, striking it involves torment, and this is not permissible. One should leave it until it dies naturally. What is the desire for it? One should leave it until it dies naturally.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
75-اللقاء الأسبوعي مع الشيخ صالح الفوزان - 05 — archive.org (22:18)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.