A prominent Mufti says that according to Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (rahmatullah alayh) prawns are halaal.

Answer

If we assume that Hadhrat Thanvi (rahmatullah alayh) did say that prawns are permissible, it will not be the final word of the Shariah. Hadhrat had also erred and issued numerous retractions of earlier fatwas. In fact, Hadhrat Thanvi (rahmatullah alayh) was in doubt. He did not categorically say that prawns are halaal. He said that if the experts (the zoologists) say that it is fish, then it will be halaal. He was not aware of the precise species to which prawns belong. The prominent Mufti is peddling baatil.