Question:

Is Sushi Halal?

The Fatwa

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The Answer

Since Sushi can be prepare with lawful or unlawful edibles, the ingredients must be checked before eating Sushi.

The Fiqh of the Answer

Sushi is typically made with rice, nori (seaweed), fish, and vegetables. Common sushi ingredients include tuna, salmon, shrimp, squid, eel, and crab.

Sushi is a Japanese dish that consists of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients, usually seafood, vegetables, and sometimes tropical fruits. The most common type of sushi is nigirizushi, which is finger-sized sushi that is hand-pressed and has a piece of raw fish on top. Nigirizushi is typically made with tuna, salmon, or shrimp.

Other popular types of sushi include makizushi, which is sushi that is rolled up in a cylindrical shape, and temaki, which is a cone-shaped sushi roll. There are many different variations of these three types of sushi, so it’s important to be familiar with all the different names when ordering.

Some of the most popular types of sushi include nigiri (hand-pressed sushi), maki (rolled sushi), temaki (hand-rolled sushi), and sashimi (sliced raw fish).

There are many different types of sushi and all of them have different names. Some examples include:

• Sushi-meshi is made using awase-zu, a rice vinegar, salt, and sugar combination. This is a catch-all term for vinegar sauce, which refers to a mixture of vinegar.
• Nori is a kind of dried seaweed that is used in makizushi.
• Neta is a type of seafood topping or filling.
• Aburi is a type of nigiri sushi in which the top of the fish is grilled and the bottom is raw.
• Pickled ginger has a pungent flavor that is intended to cleanse the palate before or after a meal.
• Sushi Rice is cooked using rice that has been specifically prepared using white rice mixed with vinegar and sugar. Despite the vinegar, the flavor is delicate and does not overwhelm the palate.
• Unagi Sauce– Many maki rolls have ‘unagi sauce’ as an ingredient. The flavor is similar to that of teriyaki sauce but thicker and sweeter.
• Wasabi (Japanese mustard) is a spicy condiment. Combine a small amount of it with your soy sauce.

Imām Muhammad (d.189 AH), Imām al-Qudūri (d.428 AH), Imām al-Mawṣili (d.683 AH), Imām as-Sarakhsi (d.483 AH), Imām al-Has̄kafi (d.1088 AH) and many other Hanafi jurists have all stated that only Samak is lawful from the aquatic creatures.

We have not been able to locate clear criteria and conditions for what qualifies something as Samak from the classical Fuqahā’. What we have located are four concepts:

1. The clear statements of Samak being lawful.
2. Clear statements of the lawfulness of Mārmāhī and Jirrīth.
3. Clear statements that Khabā’ith are unlawful.
4. Examples of aquatic creatures that are unlawful.

Hence, contemporary scholars have attempted to define or understand Samak in different ways. The three common approaches and trends that have developed are as follows:

1. Fish attributes – the most notable in this regard is what was mentioned and enumerated by Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Ludyanwi (Rahimahullah). He mentions that there are three distinguishing features in fish, the spine, the gills, and the fins. Something which does not possess this is not deemed to be Samak.  
2. The visible appearance and shape – Shaykh Nur al-Din Itr (Rahimahullah) in I’lām al-Anām explains the Hanafi view on Samak by stating that whichever aquatic creature resembles a land creature is prohibited and is not Samak. Hence, Samakcan be understood and was commonly known among people due to the clear body shape of the aquatic creature; they have a distinct shape from land creatures.
3. ‘Urf (customary practice) – These jurists and contemporary scholars look at the customary practice of how people consume and understand Samak, and categorise Samak For example, Mufti Abdur Rahim Lajpuri (Rahimahullah) and others who suggest prawns are lawful to consume are inclined to the idea of ‘Urf defining Samak.

The additional mention by the Fuqahā’ of Mārmāhī and Jirrīth usually after discussing Samak gives the idea that perhaps the status of these sea creatures being within the understanding of Samak was unclear. Although, Mulla Khusru (d.885 AH) states that there were objections on these being lawful and hence they are mentioned specifically. Nevertheless, Imam al-Ayni (d.855 AH) described Mārmāhī as Samak which is shaped and looks like a snake. Some common contemporary translations of Mārmāhī are eel. This is interesting as eels share an appearance of snakes and fish. Perhaps that is why there were some Fuqahā’ who objected on whether eels are Samak or not. Jirrīth has been described as a dark-coloured round fish. Again, the shape is odd and uncommon sight for compared to other Samak. To add to the above, Imam al-Marghināni (d.593 AH) and Imam al-‘Ayni (d.855 AH) note that the Kalb al-Mā’ and the Khinzīr al-Mā’ are also prohibited and unlawful. The terminologies of these sea creatures also indicate to drawing analogies to land animals, and deeming anything that resembled a land animal from the aquatic creatures as unlawful. Hence, the idea of the visible appearance and shape being an indicator of what Samak is gains further traction and weight with these descriptions. Perhaps a distinctive framework to understand Samak is not addressed in the major works of Hanafi Fiqh as it was obvious on the shape and appearance, and it is how people understood Samak.

Once it has been established that the item being used in the sushi falls under Samak, the consumption of such sushi will be allowed, permitting no other Ḥarām ingredients such as mirin are added.

And Almighty Allah Alone Knows Best

 Maulana Inaamul Hasan Chothia
Trainee Mufti

Reviewed and approved by
Mufti Faraz Adam
Darul Iftaa Muadh ibn Jabal
www.darulfiqh.com 

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ثُمَّ جَمِيعُ أَنْوَاعِ السَّمَكِ حَلَالٌ الْجِرِّيثُ وَالْمَارِهِيجُ وَغَيْرُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ سَوَاءٌ، وَلَا يُؤْكَلُ مِنْ سِوَى السَّمَكِ مِنْ حَيَوَانَاتِ الْمَاءِ عِنْدَنَا (المبسوط)

واما الَّذِي يحل بِغَيْر الذّبْح فَهُوَ ثَلَاثَة اشياء

1 – الْجَرَاد 2 والسمك 3 والجنين اذا خرج من بطن أمه مَيتا

فالجراد لَا خلاف فِيهِ وَكَذَلِكَ السّمك اذا صيد من الْبَحْر كَائِنا من كَانَ الصياد مُسلما كَانَ اَوْ مُشْركًا مُرْتَدا أَو غَيرهم (النتف في الفتاوي)

قال: “ولا يؤكل من حيوان الماء إلا السمك  (الهداية)

حكم دَوَاب الْبَحْر وَأما دوات الْبَحْر فانها مُحرمَة سوى السّمك بأجناسها فِي قَول الْفُقَهَاء (النتف في الفتاوي)

(وَلَا) يَحِلُّ (حَيَوَانٌ مَائِيٌّ إلَّا السَّمَكُ) الَّذِي مَاتَ بِآفَةٍ وَلَوْ مُتَوَلِّدًا فِي مَاءٍ نَجِسٍ (الدرالمختار)

أنواع السمك والجراد حلال ولا يشترط فيه الذكاة (الفتاوى السراجية)

https://www.kimonorestaurants.com/sushi/sushi-101-all-the-basics-you-need-to-know/