Juristic Discourses and Modern Issues Concerning the Offspring of Crossbreeding between Ḥalāl and Ḥarām Animals: A Study in the Light of Ḥanafī Fiqh

حلال و حرام جانور کے اختلاط سے پیدا ہونے والے جانور سے متعلق فقہی مباحث اور معاصر مسائل :فقہ حنفی کے تناظر میں

Abstract

This study explores the important juristic question of determining the permissibility (ḥalāl) or prohibition (ḥarām) of animals within the framework of Ḥanafī jurisprudence. According to the Ḥanafī school, if two permissible animals interbreed, their offspring is unanimously considered ḥalāl, and if two impermissible animals interbreed, their offspring is unanimously considered ḥarām. However, when a permissible (mākūl al-laḥm) and an impermissible (ghayr mākūl al-laḥm) animal interbreed, juristic differences arise. Some jurists hold that if the offspring resembles the impermissible parent, it should be deemed ḥarām, while another opinion states that such an offspring is categorically prohibited, since the principle is that when ḥalāl and ḥarām are combined, prohibition prevails. Nevertheless, the majority of Ḥanafī jurists maintain that the decisive factor is the mother; hence, if the mother is ḥalāl, the offspring is also considered ḥalāl, even if the father is ḥarām. This article examines these foundational principles exclusively from the Ḥanafī perspective and applies them to contemporary issues such as genetic engineering, crossbreeding, and lab-grown meat. The discussion demonstrates how classical jurisprudential principles continue to provide guidance in modern scientific contexts, underlining the need for further academic engagement with these emerging challenges.