Is Eel Halal? Unagi and the Schools of Thought

The Qur'an makes the game of the sea and its food lawful ^[1]. Fish and other sea creatures that a school allows need no slaughter.

The schools differ on how far this goes. Shafi'i and Hanbali scholars allow all creatures that live in the sea, whether they look like fish or not ^[2]. The Hanafi school allows only fish ^[2]. Eel looks like a snake, which is why people ask about it, but biologically it is a fish.

Since Hanafis allow only fish, the question is whether eel counts. Hanafi muftis say it does.

Moulana Yusuf Laher of AskMufti, a South African fatwa service, says eel falls under the category of fish, so it is halal without slaughter. He cites Radd al-Muhtar and al-Mabsut of al-Sarakhsi ^[4]. Mufti Ebrahim Desai's summary of the four schools also says eel is permitted in the Hanafi school, even though it does not look like a typical fish ^[3].

The Maliki school is generally the broadest on seafood. But two Hanafi fatwa summaries, one from Darul Ifta Birmingham and one from Mufti Ebrahim Desai, report that Imam Malik held all sea creatures halal except eel ^[2][3]. Desai cites the well-known reference work Fiqh on the Four Schools for this ^[3].

We could not check this against a Maliki source directly. If you follow the Maliki school, ask a Maliki scholar how this is applied today.

Ja'fari rulings allow only fish with scales, plus shrimp. According to the rulings of Ayatollah Sistani, fish normally considered scaleless are not halal, even if caught alive ^[5]. A Shia seafood list from Al-Islam.org groups eels with catfish among non-halal fish ^[6].

In the US, most people meet eel as unagi (freshwater eel) or anago (sea eel) in Japanese restaurants. Grilled eel is usually brushed with a sweet glaze, often called eel sauce or kabayaki sauce.

That glaze is the bigger question for many diners. Traditional recipes often include mirin or sake. Some bottled versions are made without them. Ask the restaurant, or read the bottle if you are buying it. See our eel sauce page.

Also note that "eel sauce" drizzled on sushi rolls often contains no eel at all. It is named for the dish it was made for. For other questions about rolls, see sushi.

Asian grocery stores sell frozen grilled eel in vacuum packs. These usually come already glazed, sometimes with a separate sauce packet. Read the ingredient list on both for mirin, sake, wine or "alcohol." Smoked eel, sold in some European delis, is usually just eel, salt and smoke, but check the label each time, because recipes change.

If your school allows eel, the fish itself needs no certificate ^[1][4]. What you are checking is everything added to it.