Ruling on eating balut (egg containing a dead chick)

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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
themarkets and streets of the Philippines. What is the ruling on
eating this kind of egg?.
Praise be to Allaah.
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
andboiled. 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 chickis 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.


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And Allah knows best./