A brother owns a restaurant for Arab cuisine and seafood and one of the dishes offered is a type of shrimp that takes four hours to die. Is it permissible to cook shrimp before they are dead by frying or baking? May Allah reward you well.

Shrimp are a type of seafood which are permissible to eat when they are dead, whether they die in the water or out of it, due to the general nature of the Prophet`s saying (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) about the sea, "…what dies in it is lawful food." However, what is prohibited is the torture before its death which contradicts the hadith of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), "Verily, Allah has prescribed excellent treatment of everything, so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each of you sharpen his knife and let his sacrificial animal die comfortably." The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) also said, "No one tortures with fire except the Lord of the Fire (Allah)." That is why Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) was of the opinion that this is makrooh (disliked) though it is permissible to eat it; and Allah Almighty is more exalted and more knowledgeable.