Questions For Muslims
Love this one, posted by PZ Myers over at Pharyngula, on the Islamic ruling on eating mermaids:
Are you allowed to eat a mermaid?Apparently, the Koran or some of its promoters discussed mermaids at some point, therefore they are presumed to exist. The question is then a reasonable one: if you throw a net over the side of your dhow, and haul in a mermaid along with a nice catch of ordinary fish, is she halaal? Can you chop her up, sell her at the market, or take her home to the family for dinner?
There is a fatwa on the subject of eating mermaids that cites many scholarly Islamic sources. Here are a few.
Al-Durayr - a Maaliki scholar - said in al-Sharh al-Sagheer (2/182): Sea animals in general are permissible, whether it is dead meat or a 'dog' (shark) or a 'pig' (dolphin), and they do not need to be slaughtered properly. End quote.Al-Saawi said in his commentary on that: The words "or a 'dog' or a 'pig' also include a 'human', referring thereby to mermaids. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, after stating that it is more likely that it is permissible to eat crocodiles and sea snakes: The correct view is that nothing is excluded from that, and that all the sea creatures which can only live in water are halaal, alive or dead, because of the general meaning of the verse - i.e., "Lawful to you is (the pursuit of) water game and its use for food" [al-Maa'idah 5:64].
Well.
That was a revelation. I'll never be able to watch Splash with the same eyes again.
Now I just need recipes. I've gutted enough salmon that I probably don't need cleaning instructions.
Oh, and a mermaid. I wonder if the Asian market in the Twin Cities would have any?
Shouldn't it be called the "South Asian Market"? I can't keep up with the ever-more-misleading euphemisms for "Middle Eastern".
brobin at August 3, 2009 6:03 AM
I like my mermaid broiled with butter and breadcrumbs. Squeeze of lemon just before serving. Now that's good eating.
mojoe at August 3, 2009 6:36 AM
Seriously, what else are you going to do with a mermaid?
ErikZ at August 3, 2009 6:52 AM
King Triton DID warn Ariel that if she wasn't careful she would end up on a fish-eater's hook!
NicoleK at August 3, 2009 7:00 AM
A woman that taste like fish - I know there is a joke in there some where
lujlp at August 3, 2009 7:12 AM
huh, and I thought we were talking the water trade... Mizu shōbai... there are other kinds of mermaids?
SwissArmyD at August 3, 2009 3:35 PM
I have a friend in Laguna Beach who has a serious mermaid fetish. His house is full of mermaid paintings and collectibles. I go more for Sirens (Elle McPherson, yum yum) myself.
Eric at August 3, 2009 5:00 PM
"Seriously, what else are you going to do with a mermaid?"
Hey, half a girl is still half a girl. You can always sit on the edge of the pool.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at August 3, 2009 9:12 PM
"A woman that taste like fish - I know there is a joke in there some where" -- Lujlp
I can't believe I'm going to do this, and I'll try to keep it short. Feel free to repost on the religion thread:
Adam and Even had just finished making love for the first time. Adam was resting under a fig tree and god came down and asked, "Adam what are you doing?" Adam said, "Oh my lord, Eve and I just discovered sex. Thank you thank you thank you." To which god asked, "Where is Eve? Perhaps she'd like to thank me too." Adam told him, "She's down by the river washing herself."
"Oh no," came the creator's response. "I'll never get the smell out of the fish."
JulieA at August 3, 2009 9:57 PM
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