calamari and prawns

[Unregistered]

Is it permissible for hanafis to eat calamari and prawns. I have heard calamari is haraam

[Mufti Yusuf Moosagie]

Assalamualaikum

According to the Hanafi Mazhab, it is not permissible to eat anything from the sea except fish.

Calamari happens to be a squid (cephalopod mollusk) that is not a fish and would thus not be permissible to consume.

On the subject of prawns, along the years, there has been a certain degree of uncertainty pertaining to the admissibility and impermissibility of its consumption. The root of which has been the difference of opinion within our Respected Ulamâe Kiraam; for some of them having classed it as a fish regard it Halaal and consumable,. Other Ulama do not define prawns as a fish and therefore have shown inclination towards the prohibition of its consumption.
Ref: Raddul-Muhtaar vol. 6 pg. 306

Mufti Mahmood Sahib Rahmatullahi Alaih after mentioning both opinions shows inclination towards the latter of the two groups (i.e. the group that advocates abstension) and says “ the mere fact of dispute relating to its consumption dictates that one should refrain from its intake hence the hadith دع ما يريبك إلى ما لا يريبك (‘Leave that which places you in doubt for that which wherein there is no doubt’) also demands its preclusion”.
{Mahmoodiyah (Vl 5 Pg.123)}

AND ALLAH TA'ALA KNOWS BEST