TAQWACORE WEBZINE

by sena hussain

my girlfriend and i went to cabbagetown in toronto day before yesterday, and she saw this south indian grocery store so we went in to buy some stuff.  in the back was this little seafood counter with lots of these different big fish on ice.  i got a little curious cause the grocery store was so small so it seemed strange that it had this whole tiny fish section.  my eyes scanned through their selection, and since none of them were labeled, i realized i had no idea what types of fish they were.  one of the giant fish caught my eye and my head did a double take.  i took a step closer and my heart stopped.  it was a two-and-a-half foot shark, i didn’t know what kind of shark, but it was a shark.  i turned around and ran through the store to tell my girlfriend about it. she came to the back with me to check it out, it was a real fucking shark.  i hesitantly reached out to touch it, even dead and frozen on ice it still freaked me out and commanded my respect.  i poked it’s fin first to make sure it really was dead. it tilted on to it’s side and fell back down all lifeless and corpse-like. its skin felt like sandpaper as i ran my fingers down it’s back.  my girlfriend was brave enough to open it’s mouth and we saw it’s rows of tiny sharp teeth.  the guy behind the counter asked us if we wanted to buy some, i looked into my girlfriend’s eyes and smiled.  we asked the guy what a good way to cook it would be, he said to add some curry powder and fry it up.  we ordered a couple steaks and went on our way.

the next night i looked up some recipes and found a south indian one called sura puttu, shark hash.  out of curiosity i looked up to see if shark is halal, and to my surprise, it is.

(from http://www.shariahprogram.ca/eat-halal-foods/shark-meat-halal.shtml) Fish has been exempted from the general ruling of the impermissibility of eating dead animals, and it can be consumed even if it was a man-eater.

Allah Most High says:

“Lawful to you is the pursuit of water-game (fishing) and its use for food, for the benefit of yourselves and those who travel…” (Surah al-Ma’ida, V: 96)… Read More

This verse, according to the understanding of the Hanafi Mujtahids, refers to fish only, and not other animals.

Moreover, Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him eternal peace) said: “Two types of dead meat and two types of blood have been made lawful for our consumption: The two dead meats are: fish and locust, and the two types of blood are: liver and spleen.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad, 2/97 and Sunan Ibn Majah, no: 3314)

Thus, there is complete consensus with regards to the permissibility of eating fishes of all kind, including sharks and whales, due to the above-mentioned and many other evidences found in the Sunnah. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and his blessed Companions (Allah be pleased with them all) have been reported in many narrations to have consumed fish. In fact, there is a renowned Hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and elsewhere that alludes to the permissibility of eating large fishes such as the shark and whale.

Sayyiduna Jabir ibn Abd Allah (Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) sent troops to the sea-coast and appointed Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah (Allah be pleased with him) as their commander, and they were 300 (men). We set out, and we had covered some distance on the way, when our journey-food and provision ran short. So Abu Ubayda ordered that all the food present with the troops be collected, and it was collected. Our journey-food was dates, and Abu Ubayda kept on giving us our daily share from it little by little until it decreased to such an extent that we did not receive except a date each. I (Jabir) asked: “How did you survive on one date?” He said: “We came to know its value when even that finished.” Jabir added: “Then we reached the sea (coast) where we found a fish like a small mountain. The people (i.e. troops) ate from it for 18 nights (i.e. days). Then Abu Ubayda ordered that two of its ribs be fixed on the ground (in the form of an arch) and that a she-camel be ridden and passed under them. So it passed under them without touching them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, no: 4102, Kitab al-Maghazi)

not that i really care. anyway i cooked it up and we ate it last night.  it was a good recipe, and the meat was really tough, and kind of tasteless.  i felt weird eating it, i was actually eating a fucking shark, i know it probably sounds fucked up to say that since there’s lots of people who eat it all the time, but something about it gave ME, a noob shark eater, the chills.

as i drift off to sleep the image in my eyes go from darkness to a deep blue colour, with bunches of small moving flashes of white light above my head.  i glide effortlessly, and i’m hungry, on the lookout for something, i need it before the morning hits.  i open my mouth and snap it shut, my jaw is  transformed into a powerful weapon, it has become a tool to my new mode of survival.  i feel powerful but vulnerable, always on the lookout to attack and watching my tail for potential attackers.  i am a shark now, feared.  i’m a hunter, and i’m hunted.  i’m vicious, and the hunger in my belly is my calling.  i wake up and the taste of shark lingers in my mouth.