Eating capybara is permissible

14-1-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum. Is eating capybara permissible ?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

First of all, it should be noted that the capybara is different from the porpoise (mereswine) about which Muslim scholars talked in their books. The capybara is amphibious, as is stated in its definition in the Global Arabic Encyclopedia, “It feeds near rivers and lakes and dives into the water as soon as it senses any danger.” The porpoise, on the other hand, lives in seawater.

According to the information that we have gathered about the capybara, it is a herbivorous animal that has no fangs and is not considered impure. Hence, it is halaal (lawful), as there is no valid reason for declaring it unlawful to eat.

Allah knows best.