Is it permissible to eat Krill?

Answer:

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

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

According to the Hanafi Mazhab, it is not permissible for one to consume any water-borne creature besides fish.

The anatomy of Krill is defined as “Krill belong to the large arthropod subphylum, the Crustacea. The most familiar and largest group of crustaceans, the class Malacostraca, includes the superorder Eucarida comprising the three orders, Euphausiacea or krill, Decapoda (shrimp, lobsters, crabs), and the planktonic Amphionides.”[1]

It is clear from the above definition that the anatomy of Krill is not the same as that of fish; therefore it would not be permissible for a person to consume Krill since it does not fall under the classification of a fish.[2]

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Moulana Ismail Desai,
Student Darul Iftaa
Durban, South Africa

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.