Short answer
Yes, with some dislike in the Hanafi school. Imam Abu Hanifa disliked eating horse, and the Deobandi fatwa position treats it as halal but makruh tanzihi (mildly disliked); his two students held it fully halal. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools allow it, and the well-known Maliki position forbids it. Donkey and mule meat are haram.
Horse meat slaughtered by zabiha is halal but makruh tanzihi, following the later Hanafi reading of Imam Abu Hanifa's dislike, which was out of respect for the horse as a means of jihad, not because its meat is impure. Abu Yusuf and Muhammad held it halal without dislike.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Horse meat is halal without dislike.
- Hanbali
- Horse meat is halal without dislike.
- Maliki
- The well-known position forbids horse meat; some Maliki scholars held it only disliked.
Explanation
Sound hadith settle the basic question. On the day of Khaybar the Prophet ﷺ forbade the meat of domestic donkeys and allowed horse meat. Asma bint Abi Bakr reported that her family slaughtered a horse in Madinah in his lifetime and ate it.
Imam Abu Hanifa still disliked it. His reasons were that the Quran mentions horses, mules and donkeys for riding and adornment, while it mentions eating for grazing livestock, and that horses were the main tool of jihad and defence. Hanafi scholars later differed on how strong his dislike was. The view widely given in Deobandi fatwas today is that it is mildly disliked, and his two leading students held it fully permitted. Hanafi scholars agree that horse meat is not impure, and that horse milk is permitted.
- Horse: halal with zabiha, mildly disliked for Hanafis.
- Domestic donkey: haram in all four schools.
- Mule: haram, since it is born of a donkey.
- Zebra and wild donkey: halal with zabiha in the Hanafi school.
Horse meat is eaten in Central Asia and parts of Europe, and is rare in the US. Like any meat it needs proper slaughter (see what makes meat halal).
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:8
وَٱلْخَيْلَ وَٱلْبِغَالَ وَٱلْحَمِيرَ لِتَرْكَبُوهَا وَزِينَةًۭ ۚ وَيَخْلُقُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٨﴾
And [He created] the horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride and [as] adornment. And He creates that which you do not know.
The verse Abu Hanifa drew on in disliking horse meat.
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:5
وَٱلْأَنْعَٰمَ خَلَقَهَا ۗ لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌۭ وَمَنَٰفِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ ﴿٥﴾
And the grazing livestock He has created for you; in them is warmth and [numerous] benefits, and from them you eat.
Eating is mentioned for grazing livestock, in contrast to horses.
Sahih Muslim 1941
Sahih... نهى يوم خيبر عن لحوم الحمر الأهلية وأذن في لحوم الخيل ...
"On the day of Khaybar he forbade the meat of domestic donkeys and permitted horse meat."
Horse meat is permitted and donkey meat forbidden.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5511
Sahih... ذبحنا على عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فرسا ...
"We slaughtered a horse in the time of the Messenger of Allah and ate it."
The Companions ate horse meat.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Dhaba'ih, on what may be eaten. Abu Hanifa's dislike of horse meat and his students' view.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Dhaba'ih. Whether the dislike is tahrimi or tanzihi.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Mubah, on permitted foods. The Maliki position on horses, mules and donkeys.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. 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.