Eating crab and turtle as medicine

Question

People say that using a crab, burnt and mixed into honey, is very beneficial for chronic cough and asthma; likewise they say that eating a cooked turtle is very beneficial for the same disease. Are crab and turtle halal, or, if they are not halal, is their use in this way permissible?

Answer

Among water animals, according to the Hanafis no animal is lawful except fish; crab and turtle are not lawful either. However, if a crab is killed and burnt, its ruling will change through transformation of its essence (qalb mahiyya), and eating it will not be forbidden.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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