Is it permissible to eat the meat of the porcupine?

The questioner:
Is it permissible to eat the meat of the porcupine? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions. As for the porcupine, the scholars differed regarding the permissibility of eating it, with two opinions. Some hold that it is forbidden because it is loathsome. There is a hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ... and there is a hadith that Ibn 'Umar was asked about it, and he said, "It is one of the loathsome things," or was it a mursal hadith traced back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The presenter:
O Allah, send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad.

The Shaykh:
And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: So every loathsome thing is forbidden. And some of the scholars hold that it is permissible, because the default is that foods are permissible unless evidence indicates their prohibition. They said that no evidence has been established regarding the prohibition of the porcupine, so it is lawful. Yes.