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The majority ruling on eating the lizard
The Hanafi ruling on eating the lizard
Ibn Qudamah’s principle of tayyib (pure) and khabith (repulsive)
Reconciling the hadiths about eating the lizard
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Al Mubarakfuri’s Sharh On Lizards
If it is said: Since the lizard is not haram, why did the Prophet ﷺ not eat it?
Ibn Qudamah’s on Lizards
Madhhab Views On Eating Lizards by Yasir Al Najjar
Summary
The majority ruling on eating the lizard
The narrations gathered in Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī show that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not declare the lizard haram, but personally disliked eating it because it was not from the food of his people and due to its smell. He ﷺ withdrew his hand from it, yet clearly said: “I do not eat it and I do not declare it haram,” and: “Eat and feed others, for it is halal, but it is not from my food.” (Sahih Muslim 1943c, 1944a, 1946a; Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī 5/493–497) In several narrations it was eaten at his table without any rebuke, which is a implied approval that establishes permissibility.
On this basis, al Nawawi said that the Muslims have ijma that eating the lizard is halal and not makruh, and that any claim of it being haram is either not authentic or is rejected by the clear texts and the ijma of those before. (Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī 5/493–497)
The Malikis, Shafiʿis, Hanbalis, and the majority of the people of knowledge held that there is no harm in eating the lizard, because Allah ﷻ did not prohibit it, nor did His Messenger ﷺ, and it was eaten in his presence. (Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh ʿalā al Madhāhib al Arbaʿah 19/755–757) They use as proof the explicit wording: “I do not eat it and I do not declare it haram,” (Sahih Muslim 1943c) and his ﷺ statement: “Eat, for it is halal, but it is not from my food.” (Sahih Muslim 1944a) Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ left the lizard out of aversion, and it was eaten at his table. If it had been haram, it would not have been eaten at the table of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” ʿUmar رضي الله عنه likewise said that the Prophet ﷺ did not declare it haram, and that he himself would eat it if it were with him. (Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī 5/493–497; Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh 19/755–757)
From this, the majority conclude that the asl is permissibility, and no firm prohibiting evidence has been found, so the lizard remains upon ibahah. They also rely on the general principle in al Mughni that what Allah has named haram in His Book is limited to explicit categories like carrion, blood, pork, and what is sacrificed to other than Allah, as in the verse:
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ
“Carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah have been made haram upon you.” (Surah al Ma’idah 3)
And the verse:
قُلْ لَا أَجِدُ فِيمَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا
“Say: I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything made haram.” (Surah al Anʿam 145)
As well as the hadith: “Whatever Allah has remained silent about, then it is from what He has pardoned.” (al Mughni 13/316–317)
The Hanafi ruling on eating the lizard
The Hanafis held that eating the lizard is haram. Their main textual evidence is the report that “the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade eating the meat of the lizard.” (Abu Dawud 3796, graded hasan; Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh 19/755–757)
They also rely on the hadith of ʿAishah رضي الله عنها that a lizard was gifted to the Prophet ﷺ and he did not eat from it. When she wished to give it to a beggar, he ﷺ said: “Do not feed the beggars what you do not eat.” (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 24345, with a weak chain, but used as supporting evidence; Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh 19/755–757)
From this, some Hanafis understood that his refraining from eating it was due to prohibition, not mere personal dislike, because he also stopped it being given in charity. They reason that if it was only a matter of taste, he would have allowed it to be given away, like other lawful foods he personally did not prefer.
They therefore interpret the hadiths of permissibility as having occurred before the later forbiddance, and they apply the usul principle that when two evidences conflict, one indicating prohibition and the other indicating permissibility, the evidence of prohibition is given precedence. (Ahkam al Qur’an 4/189; al Mabsut 11/321; Bada’i al Sana’i 5/37; al Jawharah al Nayirah 5/468; al Lubab 2/366; Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh 19/755–757)
Ibn Qudamah’s principle of tayyib (pure) and khabith (repulsive)
In another place, Ibn Qudamah explains that what is haram from animals is what Allah the Exalted has explicitly named in His Book, and whatever the Arabs regarded as tayyib (pure) is halal, while what they regarded as khabith (repulsive) is haram, based on the verse:
وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ
“He makes lawful for them the good things and forbids for them the impure things.” (Surah al Aʿraf 157)
He says that the people of Hijaz are the reference point for what is considered tayyib and khabith, as they were the primary audience of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
He lists among the creatures regarded as khabith various insects and small animals, including small lizards, geckos, chameleons, large desert lizards, and snakes.
This, he says, is the view of Abu Hanifah and al Shafiʿi, while Malik, Ibn Abi Layla, and al Awzaʿi permitted all of them except geckos. (al Mughni 13/316–317)
They use as proof the general permissive verses about tayyibat, whereas Ibn Qudamah argues that their being considered khabith, and the command to kill certain vermin, indicates prohibition for such harmful and repulsive creatures. (al Mughni 13/316–317)
This shows that, at the level of usul, Ibn Qudamah connects the ruling on such animals to the judgement of the early Arabs regarding tayyib and khabith, and he groups various lizard types among creatures that are naturally repulsive, even though in his fiqh discussion on the specific desert lizard he also transmits the many narrations of permissibility and the majority’s rukhsah (a legal concession in Sharia allowing something due to hardship or valid excuse, while the original ruling remains). (al Mughni 9/336; Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī 5/493–497)
Reconciling the hadiths about eating the lizard
The apparent contradiction between narrations that permit lizard meat and those that mention pouring it away or fearing that it might be from a transformed nation is reconciled in two main ways.
The majority, as presented by al Mubarakfuri and others, hold that the clear texts of permissibility and the practice of the Companions in eating it before the Prophet ﷺ establish that the basic ruling is halal.
The hadiths in which he ﷺ ordered cooked lizards to be poured away, or expressed fear that they may be from the transformed people of Bani Israil, are understood as temporary caution while the matter was unclear. Once it became established that the transformed nations left no offspring or continuation, that specific cause fell away, and the ruling returned to permissibility. (Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī 5/493–497)
Likewise, the hadith of ʿAishah رضي الله عنها is interpreted by al Tahawi and others as showing that he disliked giving in sadaqah what is only being given out of personal aversion, just as he forbade giving inferior dates in charity, and not as a proof that eating the lizard itself is haram. (Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī 5/493–497)
The Hanafis, by contrast, resolve the same narrations by treating the forbiddance reports and the incident with ʿAishah رضي الله عنها as decisive and later, and therefore place the lizard among what is haram, even though they acknowledge the earlier narrations of permissibility and the practice of some Companions. (Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh 19/755–757)
In summary, the passages show that the majority of the imams and madhhabs keep the lizard under the asl of permissibility, supported by explicit statements from the Prophet ﷺ that he did not declare it haram and by its being eaten in his presence.
The Hanafi madhhab and some who follow a stricter reading of the forbiddance reports treat those narrations as outweighing the permissive ones and therefore rule it haram.
The different reconciliations of the hadiths are what produce the difference in fiqh rulings, not a disagreement over the authenticity of the core narrations themselves. (Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī 5/493–497; al Mughni 9/336; Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh 19/755–757)
Full Article
Al Mubarakfuri’s Sharh On Lizards
Chapter on Eating the Lizard
Al Hafidh (Ibn Hajar Asqalani) said: It is a small creature resembling the large desert lizard, but bigger than it. It is given the kunyah Abu Husl, and the female is called dabbah. It is said that the male lizard has two reproductive organs, and for that reason it is described as having two males. Ibn Khalawayh mentioned that the lizard lives for 700 years, that it does not drink water, that it urinates only one drop every 40 days, and that its teeth do not fall out.
It is also said that its teeth are one single piece. Others related that eating its meat removes thirst. Among the proverbs is the saying, I will not do such and such until the lizard comes to water, which is said by one who intends never to do something, because the lizard does not come to water but suffices with the breeze and cool air, and it does not leave its burrow in winter. It is called in Persian susmar and in Hindi koh.
His statement, “I do not eat it and I do not declare it haram,” contains evidence for the permissibility of eating the lizard.
Al Nawawi said: The Muslims have reached ijma on the fact that eating the lizard is halal and not makruh, except what has been reported from some of the companions of Abu Hanifah who considered it makruh, and what al Qadi Iyad related from some who said it is haram.
I do not think this is authentically reported from anyone, and even if it were authentically reported from someone, it would be rejected by the clear texts and the ijma of those before him.
If it is said: Since the lizard is not haram, why did the Prophet ﷺ not eat it?
It is said: Al Bukhari narrated in his Sahih from Abdullah ibn Abbas that Khalid ibn al Walid entered with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ into the house of Maymunah. A roasted lizard was brought. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ extended his hand toward it.
Some of the women said, Inform the Messenger of Allah ﷺ what he intends to eat. They said, It is a lizard, O Messenger of Allah. So he withdrew his hand. I said, Is it haram, O Messenger of Allah? He said, No, but it was not found in the land of my people, so I find myself disliking it. Khalid said: I pulled it toward myself and ate it while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was looking.
Al Hafiz said: His statement, “I find myself disliking it,” means I dislike eating it. In the narration of Saeed ibn Jubayr it states that the Prophet ﷺ left them as though he felt aversion toward it. If it had been haram, they would not have eaten it at the table of the Prophet ﷺ, nor would he have permitted them to eat it.
This permission is understood from his tacit approval. There is no wording of direct command in the narrations of the hadith of Ibn Abbas except in the narration of Yazid ibn al Asamm recorded by Muslim, in which it says: He said to them, Eat.
So al Fadl, Khalid, and the woman ate.
Likewise, in the narration of al Shaʿbi from Ibn Umar it says: The Prophet ﷺ said, Eat and feed others, for it is halal, or he said, There is no harm in it, but it is not from my food.
In all of this is clarification that the reason the Prophet ﷺ left it was that he was not accustomed to it. Another reason has also been reported. Malik recorded from the mursal narration of Sulayman ibn Yasar, mentioning the meaning of the hadith of Ibn Abbas, and at its end it states that the Prophet ﷺ said: Eat, meaning Khalid and Ibn Abbas, for I am attended by one from Allah. Al Maziri said: Meaning the angels.
The lizard meat has an odour, so he left it due to its smell, just as he refrained from eating garlic though it is halal. Al Hafiz said: If this is authentic, it may be combined with the first reason, so that there were two reasons for his leaving it.
His statement, “And in this chapter are narrations from Umar, Abu Saeed, Ibn Abbas, Thabit ibn Wadiʿah, Jabir, and Abd al Rahman ibn Hasanah.”
As for the hadith of Umar, Muslim and Ibn Majah recorded from Jabir that Umar ibn al Khattab said regarding the lizard: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not declare it haram. Umar said: Allah benefits many people by it. It is the food of most shepherds. If I had it, I would eat it.
As for the hadith of Abu Saeed, Ahmad, Muslim, and Ibn Majah recorded from him that a man said, O Messenger of Allah, we are in a land abundant with lizards. What do you command us? He said: It has been mentioned to me that a nation from Bani Israil was transformed. He neither commanded nor forbade.
As for the hadith of Ibn Abbas, the two Shaykhs recorded from him that his maternal aunt Umm Hufayd gifted to the Prophet ﷺ dried yoghurt, ghee, and lizards. He ate from the yoghurt and ghee and left the lizards out of aversion. Ibn Abbas said: They were eaten at his table. Had it been haram, they would not have been eaten at the table of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
As for the hadith of Thabit ibn Wadiʿah, Abu Dawud and al Nasaʾi recorded from him that they were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in an army expedition and they caught lizards. He said: I roasted one and brought it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and placed it before him.
He took a stick and counted its fingers, then said: A nation from Bani Israil was transformed into animals upon the earth, and I do not know which animals they are. He neither ate it nor forbade it. Al Hafiz said: Its chain is sahih.
As for the hadith of Jabir, Muslim recorded from him that lizard was brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he refused to eat it, saying: I do not know, perhaps it is from those generations who were transformed. Ibn Majah recorded from him that the Prophet ﷺ did not declare the lizard haram, but he found it repulsive, and it is the food of most shepherds. Allah benefits many people through it. If it were with me, I would eat it.
As for the hadith of Abd al Rahman ibn Hasanah, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Hibban, and al Tahawi recorded from him that they camped in a land full of lizards and cooked them.
The Prophet ﷺ said: A nation from Bani Israil was transformed into animals upon the earth, and I fear these may be they, so pour them out. Al Hafiz said: Its chain is upon the conditions of the two Shaykhs except for al Dahhak, whom they did not record.
His statement, “This hadith is hasan sahih.” The two Shaykhs also recorded it.
The ulama differed concerning eating the lizard. Some of the Sahabah and others granted rukhsah (a legal concession in Sharia allowing something due to hardship or valid excuse, while the original ruling remains) in it. This is the view of the majority and it is the stronger position relied upon. They used as evidence the hadith of Ibn Umar mentioned in the chapter, the narrations of Ibn Abbas, Umar, and Jabir, and the hadith of Khalid ibn al Walid.
Also the hadith of Ibn Abbas recorded by al Bukhari that lizard was eaten at the table of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he only left it out of aversion.
Imam Muslim also recorded that some of the Sahabah were eating meat and a woman informed them it was lizard, so they stopped. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Eat and feed others, for it is halal, or he said, There is no harm in it, but it is not from my food.
Among the evidences is the hadith of Yazid ibn al Asamm recorded by Muslim and al Tahawi, that a bride in al Madinah invited them and presented 13 lizards. Some ate and some refrained. Ibn Abbas said: Allah did not send His Prophet ﷺ except to make halal and haram clear.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with Maymunah, al Fadl ibn Abbas, Khalid ibn al Walid, and another woman. A dish with meat was presented. When the Prophet ﷺ intended to eat, Maymunah said it was lizard meat.
He withdrew his hand and said: I have never eaten it before. He said to them: Eat. So al Fadl and Khalid ate, and the woman ate. Maymunah said: I do not eat anything except what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ eats.
Also among the evidences is the mursal narration of Sulayman ibn Yasar previously mentioned, and the hadith of Abu Hurayrah recorded by al Tahawi that the Prophet ﷺ was brought a bowl containing lizards and said: Eat, for I find it repulsive.
Also the hadith of Khuzaymah ibn Juzʾ recorded by Ibn Majah, that he asked, O Messenger of Allah, what do you say regarding the lizard?
He said: I do not eat it and I do not declare it haram. He said: I eat what you have not declared haram. He said: A nation from among the nations disappeared, and I saw something that caused me doubt.
Others considered it makruh. Al Tahawi said in Sharh al Athar that some disliked eating the lizard, among them Abu Hanifah, Abu Yusuf, and Muhammad ibn al Hasan. Muhammad ibn al Hasan used as evidence the hadith of Aishah that a lizard was gifted to the Prophet ﷺ and he did not eat it.
A beggar came, and Aishah wished to give it to him. The Prophet ﷺ said to her: Will you give him what you do not eat? Muhammad said: This indicates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ disliked for himself and others to eat the lizard.
Imam Al Tahawi (d.321 AH) replied that this does not prove dislike. It may be that he disliked her giving it in charity because she only did so out of aversion to it.
What is given in sadaqah is for Allah, so he wished that what is given seeking closeness to Allah be from good food, just as he forbade giving inferior dates in charity. Thus the reason he disliked her giving the lizard was not because eating it is haram.
They also used as evidence the hadith of Ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ desired white bread from brown wheat kneaded with ghee. A man prepared it and brought it. He asked: In what was this? He said: In a container made of lizard skin.
He said: Remove it. Abu Dawud said after narrating it: This hadith is munkar. There is no proof in it of tahrim or karahah. Al Tayyibi said: He ordered it removed because his nature disliked the lizard, as indicated in the hadith of Khalid, not because its skin is impure. If it were impure, he would have ordered it discarded and forbidden using it.
They also used as evidence the hadith of Abd al Rahman ibn Hasanah that they cooked lizards and the Prophet ﷺ said: A nation from Bani Israil was transformed into animals upon the earth, and I fear these may be they, so pour them out. Also the hadith of Abd al Rahman ibn Shibl that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade eating lizard meat.
The response is that the reason for ordering them poured out and forbidding eating was his fear that they might be from the transformed nation. It is established that the transformed nation leaves no offspring and no progeny. When it became clear that Allah did not transform a people and leave for them offspring or continuation, the reason ceased. Therefore, the ruling returned to permissibility.
Tuḥfat al Aḥwadhī by al Mubārakfūrī 5/493–497
Ibn Qudamah’s on Lizards
“What is haram from animals is that which Allah the Exalted has explicitly mentioned in His Book.
Whatever the Arabs used to regard as tayyib (wholesome and good in nature) is halal (lawful), and whatever they used to regard as khabith (repulsive and impure in nature) is haram (prohibited), due to the statement of Allah the Exalted:
وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ
‘He makes lawful for them the good things and forbids for them the impure things.’ (Surah al Araf 157)”
By his statement, “what Allah has named in His Book,” he means His saying:
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ
‘Carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah have been made haram upon you.’ (Surah al Ma’idah 3)
Anything beyond this, if the Arabs found it pleasing, then it is halal, due to the statement of Allah the Exalted:
وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ
‘He makes lawful for them the good things.’
Meaning what they find pleasant and wholesome, not merely what is technically halal. The proof for this is His statement in another ayah:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ
‘They ask you what has been made lawful for them. Say: The good things have been made lawful for you.’ (Surah al Ma’idah 4)
If what was meant by tayyibat were simply halal, this would not have been a proper answer to their question.
Whatever the Arabs considered khabith is haram, due to the statement of Allah the Exalted:
وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ
‘And He forbids for them the impure things.’
Those whose judgement of what is tayyib and what is khabith is considered are the people of the Hijaz from the settled towns, because upon them the Book was revealed, and they were addressed by it and by the Sunnah.
Therefore, the general wording of both is referred back to their custom and usage, not to others. The people of the desert are not considered, because out of necessity and hunger they eat whatever they find. For this reason, one of them was asked what they eat, and he said: Whatever crawls and moves, except Umm Hubayn. It was said to him: Then may health remain for Umm Hubayn.
Whatever is found in the lands of the Muslims but is not known to the people of the Hijaz is referred back to the closest similar creature found in the Hijaz. If it does not resemble anything among them, then it is permissible, because it enters under the general statement of Allah the Exalted:
قُلْ لَا أَجِدُ فِيمَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا
‘Say: I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything made haram.’ (Surah al An’am 145)
And the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “Whatever Allah has remained silent about, then it is from what He has pardoned.”
If this is established, then among the creatures regarded as khabith are insects such as worms, dung beetles, woodlice, beetles, small lizards, geckos, chameleons, large desert lizards, locust like insects, scorpions, and snakes.
This is the view of Abu Hanifah and al Shafiʿi. Malik, Ibn Abi Layla, and al Awzaʿi permitted all of that except geckos, for Ibn Abd al Barr said there is ijma upon their prohibition. Malik said that the snake is halal if it is slaughtered properly according to Shariah.
They used as evidence the generality of the ayah permitting tayyibat. Our evidence is the statement of Allah the Exalted:
وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ
And the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “Five are fawasiq (harmful creatures) and may be killed in the Haram and outside it: the scorpion, the rat, the crow, the kite, and the vicious dog.” In another narration it mentions the snake instead of the rat.
If they were from lawful game, it would not have been made permissible to kill them. Allah the Exalted said:
لَا تَقْتُلُوا الصَّيْدَ وَأَنْتُمْ حُرُمٌ
‘Do not kill game while you are in the state of ihram.’ (Surah al Ma’idah 95)
And He said:
وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ صَيْدُ الْبَرِّ مَا دُمْتُمْ حُرُمًا
‘The game of the land has been made haram upon you while you are in the state of ihram.’ (Surah al Ma’idah 5:96)
Because these creatures are regarded as repulsive and impure in nature, they are made haram, like the gecko. Or because there is a command to kill them, they resemble harmful vermin.
al Mughni by Ibn Qudāmah 13/316–317
Madhhab Views On Eating Lizards by Yasir Al Najjar
The Ruling on Eating the Lizard
The fuqaha differed concerning the ruling on eating the lizard. Is it permissible and halal, or is it haram and unlawful to eat?
The Malikis, the Shafiʿis, the Hanbalis, and the majority of the people of knowledge held that there is no harm in eating the lizard, because Allah ﷻ did not prohibit it, nor did His Messenger ﷺ. It was eaten at the table of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and in his presence. If it had been haram, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not have left anyone to eat it.
The proof that neither Allah ﷻ nor His Messenger ﷺ prohibited it is what Muslim reported from ʿAbd Allah ibn Dinar (d. 127 AH), who said that he heard ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه say:“The Prophet ﷺ was asked about the lizard and he said: I do not eat it and I do not declare it haram.” (Reported by Muslim 1943c).
And from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه: “The Prophet ﷺ was with some of his Companions, among them Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas (d. 55 AH), and they were brought lizard meat. A woman from the wives of the Prophet ﷺ called out: It is lizard meat. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Eat, for it is halal, but it is not from my food.” (Reported by Muslim 1944a).
Ibn ʿAbbas رضي الله عنهsaid: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ left the lizard out of aversion, and it was eaten at his table. If it had been haram, it would not have been eaten at the table of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.”
ʿUmar ibn al Khattab رضي الله عنه said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not declare the lizard haram, but he found it repulsive. If it were with me, I would eat it.”
The basis is permissibility, and no prohibiting evidence has been found. Thus it remains upon its original ruling of ibahah.
No prohibition or forbiddance from the Prophet ﷺ has been established regarding it. The view of permissibility is the statement of those Companions mentioned, and no contrary report is established from them, so it constitutes ijma. (Al Tamhid 17/64, 67; Al Bayan wa al Tahsil 17/271; Al Muhadhdhab 1/247; Al Ifsah 2/354, 355; Al Mughni 9/336).
The Hanafis held that eating the lizard is haram, due to what was narrated by Shurayh ibn ʿUbayd (d. 132 AH), from Abu Rashid al Hubrani (d. 117 AH), from ʿAbd al Rahman ibn Shibl رضي الله عنه: “That the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade eating the meat of the lizard.” (Graded hasan: Reported by Abu Dawud 3796).
And from ʿAishah: “A lizard was gifted to the Prophet ﷺ and he did not eat from it. A beggar stood by them, and ʿAishah wished to give it to him. The Prophet ﷺ said to her: Will you give him what you do not eat?” (Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf 24345 with a weak chain. He said: ʿUbayd Allah ibn Saʿid narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Ibrahim, from al Aswad, from ʿAishah, who said: A lizard was gifted to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he did not eat from it. I said: O Messenger of Allah, shall I feed it to the beggars? He said: Do not feed the beggars what you do not eat.)
In the hadith of ʿAishah, it appears that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ refrained from eating it due to its prohibition, not merely because he disliked it.
Do you not see that he forbade her from giving it in charity? Had the dislike of eating it not been due to prohibition, he would have instructed her to give it in charity, just as he instructed her regarding the sheep of the Ansari when he said: “Feed it to the captives.”
The hadith which indicates permissibility is understood to have occurred before the prohibition was established.
Furthermore, the principle is that when two evidences conflict, one indicating prohibition and the other indicating permissibility, precedence is given to the evidence indicating prohibition. (Ahkam al Qur’an 4/189; Al Mabsut 11/321; Bada’i al Sana’i 5/37; Al Jawharah al Nayirah 5/468; Al Lubab 2/366).
Kitāb Mawsūʿat al Fiqh ʿalā al Madhāhib al Arbaʿah by Yāsir al Najjār 19/755–757
