Is Horse Meat Halal? What the Four Schools Say

The main evidence is a report from Jabir ibn Abdullah, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari. On the day of Khaybar, the Prophet forbade the meat of domestic donkeys and allowed horse meat ^[2]. The Mufti of the Federal Territories in Malaysia also cites a report from Asma bint Abi Bakr. She said her family slaughtered and ate a horse during the Prophet's lifetime ^[5].

These reports are why most scholars treat horse meat as halal.

Those who disliked horse meat point to Surah An-Nahl 16:8. The verse says horses, mules and donkeys were created for riding and adornment ^[1]. Some read this as a hint that horses are not meant for food. A hadith in Sunan an-Nasa'i forbids horses along with mules and donkeys, but hadith scholars judged it weak, and some held it was abrogated ^[5].

Hanafi scholars also give a practical reason. Horses were valued and needed in battle, so Abu Hanifa disliked eating them ^[3]. Hanafi texts record that his two main students, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad, held horse meat halal, and that he is reported to have moved to their view ^[3][4]. Darul Ifta Birmingham concludes it is permissible but better avoided ^[3].

Even for scholars who allow horse meat, the animal must be slaughtered properly. The Qur'an forbids animals that died without slaughter, and animals killed by a blow or fall ^[6]. It also tells believers not to eat meat over which God's name was not said ^[7].

So horse meat is only halal when a qualified person slaughters the horse with God's name. Horse meat from a non-halal source raises the same questions as any other meat.

The report from Asma bint Abi Bakr itself describes the horse being slaughtered before it was eaten ^[5]. Horses are treated like cattle, sheep and camels here, not like fish. If you're unsure about a particular source of horse meat, ask a scholar you trust.

Horse meat is a traditional food in parts of Central Asia, including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where many people are Muslim. Dishes like kazy, a horse-meat sausage, are common there. It is also eaten in some parts of Europe and East Asia.

You are unlikely to find horse meat in a typical US grocery store. If you buy it from an international market or online, ask for halal certification and the name of the certifier, just as you would for beef or lamb. See our beef page for what to check on US meat labels.

Domestic donkeys are a different case. The same hadith of Jabir that allows horse meat forbids donkey meat ^[2], and Hanafi lists name the domesticated donkey as haram ^[4]. Mules follow their mother in Hanafi law: a mule born of a donkey mare is haram ^[4]. See donkey meat and camel.