Question

Is escargot halal or not?

Answer 1

Land Snails are not halal to eat in the Hanafi school, snails are judged to be impure and therefore impermissible to eat. Such snails are impure because they are considered pests and also because they are bloodless creatures (rather than blood, they have hemolymph, which is found in spiders and crustaceans). These qualities render them from al-khaba’ith (impure, foul, or evil things) that Allah the Exalted has prohibited in the Qur’an. [7:157]. Imam Nawawi (Shafi'i) said it is haram (land snails) and said this is a view of the majority of scholars. [al-Majmu' sharh al-Muhadhdhab]