Sura 6, al-Anam (The Cattle), Mecca 55

The Quranic text and Ali’s translation

وَمِنَ الأَنْعَامِ حَمُولَةً وَفَرْشًا...

142. Of the cattle are some for burden and some for meat.

...كُلُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللّهُ...

Eat what Allah hath provided for you,

...وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٤٢﴾

and follow not the footsteps of Satan: for he is to you an avowed enemy.

Transliteration Wa minal an'a_mi hamu_lataw wa farsya_(n), kulu_ mimma_ razaqakumulla_hu wa la_ tattabi'u_ khutuwa_tisy syaita_n(i), innahu_ lakum'aduwwum mubin(un).

6: 142

Asad

…….eat whatever God has provided for you as sustenance, and follow not Satan’s footsteps [note 129]: behold, he is your open foe!

(6: 142) And of the cattle reared for work and for the sake of their flesh, eat whatever God has provided for you as sustenance, and follow not Satan's footsteps: 129 behold, he is your open foe!

Pickthall

And of the cattle (He produceth) some for burdens, some for food. Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed upon you, and follow not the footsteps of the devil, for lo! he is an open foe to you.

ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ ...

143. (Take) eight (head of cattle) in (four) pairs:

C968. The superstitions referred to in vi. 139 and v. 106 are further ridiculed in this verse, and the next.

... مِّنَ الضَّأْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْمَعْزِ اثْنَيْنِ...

of sheep a pair,

and of goats a pair;

...قُلْ آلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ الأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ الأُنثَيَيْنِ...

say, hath He forbidden the two males, or the two females, or (the young) which the wombs of the two females enclose?

...نَبِّؤُونِي بِعِلْمٍ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿١٤٣﴾

Tell me with knowledge if ye are truthful.

وَمِنَ الإِبْلِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ اثْنَيْنِ...

144. Of camels a pair, and of oxen a pair;

...قُلْ آلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ الأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ الأُنثَيَيْنِ...

say,

hath He forbidden the two males, or the two females,

or the (the young) which the wombs of the two females enclose?

...أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَاء إِذْ وَصَّاكُمُ اللّهُ بِهَـذَا...

Were ye present when Allah ordered you such a thing?

...فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللّهِ كَذِبًا لِيُضِلَّ النَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ...

But who doth more wrong than one who invents a lie against Allah, to lead astray men without knowledge?

...إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿١٤٤﴾

For Allah guideth not people who do wrong.

قُل لاَّ أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوْحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَى طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلاَّ...

145. Say:

"I find not in the Message received by me by inspiration any (meat) forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless

...أَن يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَّسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌ ...

- it be dead meat,

- or blood poured forth,

- or the flesh of swine, for it is an abomination,

C969. Blood poured forth: as distinguished from blood adhering to flesh, or the liver, or such other internal organs purifying the blood.

...أَوْ فِسْقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ بِهِ...

- or, what is impious, (meat) on which a name has been invoked, other than Allah's."

...فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلاَ عَادٍ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٤٥﴾

But (even so), if a person is forced by necessity, without wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, thy Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ هَادُواْ حَرَّمْنَا كُلَّ ذِي ظُفُرٍ...

146. For those who followed the Jewish Law, We forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof,

...وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ وَالْغَنَمِ حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ شُحُومَهُمَا...

and We forbade them the fat of the ox and the sheep,

...إِلاَّ مَا حَمَلَتْ ظُهُورُهُمَا أَوِ الْحَوَايَا أَوْ مَا اخْتَلَطَ بِعَظْمٍ...

except what adheres to their backs or their entrails, or is mixed up with a bone:

...ذَلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُم بِبَغْيِهِمْ وِإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ ﴿١٤٦﴾

this in recompense for their wilful disobedience:

for We are True (in Our ordinances).

Asad’s Translation:

6:143

[His followers would have it that, in certain cases, any of these] four kinds of cattle of either sex [is unlawful to man]: either of the two sexes of sheep and of goats." 130 Ask [them]: "Is it the two males that He has forbidden, or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females may contain? Tell me what you know in this respect," 131 if what you say is true."

6:144

And [likewise they declare as unlawful] either of the two sexes of camels and of bovine cattle. 132 Ask [them]: "Is it the two males that He has forbidden, or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females may contain? Is it, perchance, that you [yourselves] were witnesses when God enjoined [all] this upon you?" And who could be more wicked than he who, without any [real] knowledge, attributes his own lying inventions to God, and thus leads people astray'? 153 Behold, God does not grace [such]

evildoing folk with His guidance.

6:145 Say [O Prophet]: "In all that has been revealed unto me, I do not find anything forbidden to eat, if one wants to eat thereof, 154 unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine - for that, behold, is loathsome - or a sinful offering 135 over which any name other than God's has been invoked. But if one is driven by necessity - neither coveting it nor exceeding his immediate need - then [know that], behold, thy Sustainer iis much-forgiving, a dispenser

of grace." 134

6:146

And [only] unto those who followed the Jewish faith did We forbid all beasts that have claws;" 137 and We forbade unto them the fat of both oxen and sheep, excepting that which is in their backs or entrails or that which is within the bone: 138 thus did We requite them for their evildoing - for, behold, We are true to Our word!" 139

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Asad’s comments:

129 - I.e., by superstitiously declaring as forbidden what God has made lawful to man. All the references to pre-Islamic taboos given in verse 138-140 as well as 142-144 are meant to stress the lawfulness of any food (and, by implication, of any other physical enjoyment) which God has not expressly forbidden through revelation.

1 30 Lit., "eight [in] pairs - of sheep two and of goats two" (the two other pairs are mentioned in the next verse). This is an outstanding example of the ellipticism often employed in the Qur'an: a mode of expression which cannot be correctly rendered in any other language without the use of explanatory interpolations. The term zawj denotes a pair of things as well as each of the two constituents of a pair: hence my rendering of thamaniyat azwa! (lit., "eight [in] pairs") as "four kinds of cattle of either sex" . The particular superstition to which this and the next verse refer is probably identical with the one mentioned in 5 : 1 03 .

131 Lit, "tell me with knowledge" - i.e., not on the basis of guesswork but of knowledge acquired through authentic revelation. The preceding and subsequent ironical questions are meant to bring out the vagueness and inconsistency which characterizes all such superstitious, self-imposed prohibitions.

132 Lit., "and of camels two, and of bovine cattle two" - thus completing the enumeration of

the "eight kinds [i.e., four pairs] of cattle".

133 Lit., "[thus] to lead people astray". However, the conjunction li prefixed to the verb yudill ("he leads astray") does not denote here - as is usually the case - an intent ("in order that") but, rather, a logical sequel ("and thus..."): a use which is described by the grammarians as lam al-aqibah, "the letter lam signifying a causal sequence".

134 Lit., "forbidden to an eater to eat thereof".

135 Lit., "a sinful deed" (fisq) - here signifying an idolatrous offering.

137 The construction of the above sentence makes it clear that this prohibition was imposed specifically on the Jews, to the exclusion of believers of later times (Razi).

138 Cf. Leviticus vii, 23 (where, however, "all manner" of fat of ox, sheep or goat is declared forbidden).

139 See 3:93.

Ali’s comments:

C967. Superstition kills true religion. We come back to the Arab Pagan superstitions about cattle for food.

The horse is not mentioned, because horse flesh was not an article of diet and there were no superstitions about it.

Sheep and goats, camels and oxen were the usual sources of meat. Sheep and goats were not used as beasts of burden, but camels (of both sexes) were used for carrying burdens, and oxen for the plough, though cows were mainly used for milk and meat.

The words "some for burden and some for meat" so not differentiate whole species, except that they give you the first two and the last two categories.

C970. Zufur may mean claw or hoof;

it is in the singular number; but as no animal has a single claw, and there is no point in a division of claws, we must look to a hoof for the correct interpretation.

In the Jewish Law (Leviticus, 11:3-6), "Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts" was lawful as food, but the camel, the coney (rabbit), and the hare were not lawful, because the do not "divide the hoof".

"Undivided hoof" therefore is the correct interpretation.

These three animals, unlawful to the Jews, are lawful in Islam.

Cf. 4:160.

C971. In Leviticus (7:23) it is laid down that "ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep or of goat."

As regard the exceptions, it is to be noticed that priests were enjoined (Leviticus, 7:6) to eat of the fat in the trespass of offering, which was considered holy, viz., "the rump" (back and bone) "and the fat that covereth the inwards" (entrails), (Leviticus, 7:3).