Short answer
In the Hanafi school, yes: insects are not eaten, with one exception, the locust (grasshopper), which is halal even without slaughter. So cricket flour, mealworms and insect snacks are not halal for Hanafis. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools also forbid insects other than locusts; the Maliki school allows insects that are killed properly.
All insects and similar small creatures are haram except the locust, which is halal without slaughter. Insect-derived food ingredients such as carmine are not eaten; honey and beeswax are halal.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Insects may be eaten if they are killed with the intention of making them lawful and Allah's name is mentioned, unless they are harmful.
Explanation
The Quran describes the Prophet ﷺ as making good things lawful and forbidding khaba'ith (repulsive things). Scholars of the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools counted insects, worms and other creeping creatures among the khaba'ith.
The locust is the exception. A Companion said that they went on seven expeditions with the Prophet ﷺ and ate locusts with him, and another narration names fish and locusts as the two dead animals made lawful. So locusts and grasshoppers are halal and need no slaughter.
- Cricket flour, protein bars and roasted crickets: crickets are not locusts in the Hanafi view, so these are not halal for Hanafis.
- Mealworms, ants, silkworm pupae and other insect snacks: not halal for Hanafis.
- Carmine (E120): made from insects; see carmine.
- Honey and beeswax: halal; they are produced by bees, not made of them.
- Tiny insects accidentally in flour, rice or fruit: excused when they cannot reasonably be removed.
The Maliki school allows insects killed in a lawful way, so a Maliki may eat insect foods. Hanafis keep to their own school without criticising others. The full list of animals is in what animals are haram.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:157
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلْأُمِّىَّ ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَىٰهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَٰٓئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَٱلْأَغْلَٰلَ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلنُّورَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُۥٓ ۙ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٥٧﴾
Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful.
The ban on khaba'ith, applied to insects.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5495
Sahih... كنا نأكل معه الجراد ...
"We used to eat locusts with him."
Locusts were eaten in the Prophet's company.
Sunan Ibn Majah 3314
Graded sahih... أحلت لنا ميتتان ودمان ...
"Two dead things and two bloods have been made lawful for us."
Fish and locusts are lawful without slaughter.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Dhaba'ih. Creeping creatures and insects are not eaten; the locust is lawful without slaughter.
- Mukhtasar Khalil with al-Sharh al-Kabir, Bab al-Mubah, on permitted foods. The Maliki view that insects may be eaten when killed in a lawful way.
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.