Ruling on eating balut (egg containing a dead chick)
Question Belut is a fertilized duck or chicken egg that contains a nearly-developed embryo. This egg is boiled and eaten in the shell. The prevalent belief here in the Philippines is that it contains a high level of protein and is good for the heart. It is sold in the markets and streets of the…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
The description of this egg on some websites is as
follows:
Development of the chick usually takes 28 days, but balut is
an egg that has been incubated for only 18 days, during which they get a
real embryo with a primitive skeleton.
When the egg reaches the age of 16-20 days, it is ready to be
taken to market, where it will be boiled for thousands of customers who
enjoy this food. This depends on the size of the egg. The egg that is 18
days old is the best. The sellers wash the eggs thoroughly with sponges,
then when they are perfectly clean, they are put in a pot and boiled. End
quote.
With regard to the ruling on eating the egg with the embryo
that is not fully developed, the ruling is that it is haraam, because it
comes under the heading of eating maytah (something that has died without
being slaughtered properly). Eating maytah is definitely haraam according to
Islam.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
were asked about the ruling on eating this egg and they ruled that it is
haraam.
They were asked:
When we visited the Philippines, we noticed that the people
of that country commonly eat a dish they call balut. This is a chicken egg
that is placed in an incubator until it develops the form of a small chick
with all its features. Three days before the egg is peeled, they cook the
egg in water until it is done, then they break the egg and eat the chick
that is inside it.
Please advise us of the ruling on eating this food.
They replied:
If the situation is as described, then the chick is regarded
as maytah (something that died without being properly slaughtered) and it is
not permissible to eat it, because it had taken shape inside the egg, and
the prohibition on maytah is something that is well known and well
established in Islam. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aal al-Shaykh, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allah ibn
Ghadyaan, Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah
(22/305)
And Allah knows best.
