Short answer
Yes. Chicken is halal in all four schools, and a Companion reported seeing the Prophet ﷺ eat chicken. It must be slaughtered the Islamic way: most chicken in Western supermarkets is machine slaughtered, which Deobandi scholars do not accept. Chicken is not makruh.
Chicken is halal (mubah) when slaughtered by zabiha. A chicken that feeds mainly on filth is disliked until kept on clean feed for three days; ordinary free-range and farmed chickens are not in this category.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Chicken is one of the most eaten halal meats in the world. Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reported that he saw the Prophet ﷺ eating chicken. Chickens are not birds of prey, so they fall within the good, lawful foods.
Some people ask whether chicken is makruh because chickens peck at dirt and insects. The Hanafi books discuss the jallala, an animal whose food is mainly filth until its meat or milk smells of it. Such an animal is disliked until it has been kept on clean feed for a time, three days for a chicken. An ordinary chicken that wanders a yard eating grain, scraps and insects is not jallala, and farmed chicken fed on feed is certainly not.
The real question with chicken is the slaughter:
- Large plants usually use a rotating blade. Deobandi scholars do not accept this (see machine slaughtered chicken).
- Many birds are stunned first (see stunned meat).
- Ask whether halal chicken is hand slaughtered, and by whom.
Chicken products such as nuggets, stock cubes and flavourings follow the chicken they were made from. For chain restaurants, see fast food chains, and for the general rule, non-halal meat.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:4
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَآ أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ ۖ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتُ ۙ وَمَا عَلَّمْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْجَوَارِحِ مُكَلِّبِينَ تُعَلِّمُونَهُنَّ مِمَّا عَلَّمَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَكُلُوا۟ مِمَّآ أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ ﴿٤﴾
They ask you, [O Muhammad], what has been made lawful for them. Say, "Lawful for you are [all] good foods and [game caught by] what you have trained of hunting animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah." Indeed, Allah is swift in account.
Wholesome animals like chicken are lawful.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5517
Sahih... رأيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يأكل دجاجا ...
"I saw the Prophet ﷺ eating chicken."
Direct evidence that chicken is lawful.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3785
Grading to be checked... نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن أكل الجلالة وألبانها ...
"The Messenger of Allah forbade eating the jallala and drinking its milk."
The basis for the rule on animals that feed mainly on filth.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Bada'i al-Sana'i, Kitab al-Dhaba'ih wa al-Suyud. The jallala is disliked until confined on clean feed; a chicken that roams freely is not jallala.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Dhaba'ih. The period of confinement for the jallala, three days for a chicken.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.