There are 7 things Haram in Halal animal (goat, sheep, cow, etc.). I would like to know whether skin (covering) of the animal is one of them. If so what about payaa (leg pieces) generally cooked along with skin (as practised in India).

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The skin of an eatable animal which is slaughtered according to the Sharee’ah (Islamic Law) is lawful and eatable. The same thing is applicable to all its organs and parts, without any exception.

However, the Hanafi scholars hold the opinion that seven parts of a sheep are prohibited to be eaten. They are as follows: the vagina, testicles, gland, bladder, gallbladder, shed blood, and the penis. Their evidence is Allah's Saying referring to Prophet Muhammad (which means) : {…and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil.} [Quran 7:157]

They consider such parts among the disgusting things rejected by the sound human nature. As a supporting evidence, they cite a weak Hadeeth narrated by At-Tabaraani in “Al-Awsat” and Abdur-Razzaq in his “Musannaf” from ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar who said: “The Prophet hated seven things: the gall bladder, bladder, the gland,…etc.”

The previously mentioned opinion held by the Hanafi scholars is the preponderant in their School. We remind here that shed blood is prohibited by all jurists. What is meant by the “shed blood” is the blood that comes out of the slaughtered animal and gathers in the place of slaughtering or that which permeates inside the animal through the pharynx.

As for the blood which stays in the veins, flesh, spleen, liver, and heart, that is lawful to be eaten.

Allah knows best.