How the four Sunni schools differ on food

The four Sunni schools of law (madhhabs) agree on most food rules and differ on a handful. Halal or Not? shows each school's reading instead of a single verdict, so people can follow the school they already follow.

From the Halal or Not? rulebook, checked 28 September 2026 · The schools page

The four schools

Where they agree

• Pork and everything from the pig
• Blood
• Intoxicating drinks
• Meat must be Islamically slaughtered
• Fish and locusts are halal

Where they differ

• Seafood other than fish
• Insects and cochineal (E120)
• Rennet, whey and cheese
• Vinegar made from wine
• Horse meat
• Alcohol used as a solvent or on the skin

Every split in the rulebook

These are the rulebook entries where the four schools do not give the same verdict.

Haram in all four schools

• Pork
• Lard
• Cured sausage (chorizo, salami, pepperoni)
• Blood
• Wine
• Spirits and beer
• Heparin
• Pancreatin / pancrelipase
• Porcine insulin

Doubtful in all four schools

• Drink-named flavouring
• Alcohol (ethanol) in food
• Vanilla extract
• Gelatine (formerly E441)
• Collagen
• Mono- and diglycerides and related emulsifiers (E470 to E477, E481 to E483, E491 to E495)
• Glycerol / glycerin (E422)
• Stearic acid and stearates (E570, E470)
• Tallow or suet
• Bone phosphate or bone char (E542)
• L-cysteine (E920)
• Flavour enhancers from nucleotides (E627, E631, E635)
• Pepsin
• Keratin
• Placenta
• Enzymes (source not stated)
• Meat or poultry
• Flavour or seasoning named after meat or seafood

Halal in all four schools

• Fatty or non-drinking alcohol
• Locusts
• Shellac (E904)

UK halal certifiers and stunning

• Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC): Accepts no stunning of any kind before slaughter; hand slaughter only.
• Halal Food Authority (HFA): Accepts reversible stunning where the animal is still alive at the moment of slaughter.

Quick answers

Where do the four schools agree on food?

They agree on pork and everything from the pig, blood, intoxicating drinks, meat must be Islamically slaughtered and that fish and locusts are halal.

Where do the four schools differ on food?

They differ on seafood other than fish, insects and cochineal (E120), rennet, whey and cheese, vinegar made from wine, horse meat and alcohol used as a solvent or on the skin.

What is the Hanafi school's position on food?

The most widely followed school, predominant in South Asia, Turkey and Central Asia, and among most British Muslims of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi heritage. Stricter on seafood; more permissive on rennet and on vinegar.

What is the Maliki school's position on food?

Predominant in North and West Africa. Permits all seafood and is the most permissive on insects.

What is the Shafi'i school's position on food?

Predominant in East Africa, Yemen, Malaysia, Indonesia and parts of Egypt. Permits all seafood; stricter on rennet and on wine deliberately turned to vinegar.

What is the Hanbali school's position on food?

Predominant in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Permits all seafood; close to the Shafi'i school on rennet and vinegar.

What is the difference between HMC and HFA halal?

Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC): Accepts no stunning of any kind before slaughter; hand slaughter only. Halal Food Authority (HFA): Accepts reversible stunning where the animal is still alive at the moment of slaughter.

Halal or Not? reads an ingredients list against a published rulebook of where the four Sunni schools and the main certifiers agree and differ. It is information, not a fatwa. When in doubt, ask a scholar you trust or look for a recognised halal mark.