Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 93

(Ayah 94,93){كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ …:} In the above verses, arguments have been presented to establish the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and accusations have been established against the People of the Book. Now, from here, the answers to their doubts are given, which they used to raise regarding your Prophethood (peace and blessings be upon him). (Razi) When the Qur'an stated that due to the oppression and rebellion of the Jews, many things were made forbidden for them [ النساء : ۱۶۰۔ الانعام : ۱۴۶] which were lawful during the time of the Prophethood of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), the Jews denied these verses and said that these things have been forbidden since the time of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Upon this, these verses were revealed. (Shawkani) Some commentators have written in the context of the revelation of these verses (94,93) that the Jews did not believe in abrogation in the Torah, and the Jews also denied Isa (peace be upon him) for this reason, that he declared some forbidden things in the Torah as lawful, and for this reason, they also objected to the abrogation and abrogated verses in the Qur'an. So, in response to them, these verses were revealed that this abrogation is also present in your own Shariah, that until the Torah was revealed, all foods were lawful for you, including camel meat and milk. Then, when Yaqub (peace be upon him) was afflicted with sciatica, he, upon recovery, vowed to make camel meat forbidden for himself. Then, when the Torah was revealed, camel meat and milk were declared forbidden in it. (Ibn Kathir, Al-Kashshaf) This vow of making the lawful unlawful was permissible in their Shariah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, in one incident, made honey unlawful for himself, though it was not a vow, but the Qur'an forbade such vows and making the lawful unlawful, and prescribed expiation for it. For details, see Surah At-Tahrim.

Some have written that the Jews also raised this objection regarding the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that this Prophet claims to be a follower of the religion of Ibrahim, and eats camel meat, whereas this meat is forbidden in the religion of Ibrahim. Upon this, these verses were revealed that before the revelation of the Torah, all these things were lawful, so how could they be forbidden in the religion of Ibrahim? If you are truthful in your claim, then show it in the Torah, otherwise refrain from fabricating such slanders against Allah. (Ibn Kathir)

In Musnad Ahmad, it is mentioned from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Jews asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) four questions and their answers. One of them was: What were the foods that Yaqub (peace be upon him) made unlawful for himself before the Torah was revealed? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied that Israel, that is, Yaqub (peace be upon him), when he became seriously ill and his illness became prolonged, he vowed that if Allah granted him recovery, he would give up his favorite food and favorite drink, and his favorite food was camel meat and his favorite drink was camel milk. Upon hearing this, the Jews affirmed his answer. He said: "O Allah! Be a witness over them." [ أحمد : 278/1، ح : ۲۵۱۸، و حسنہ و صححہ أحمد شاکر و الحاکم و وافقہ الذھبی۔ المعجم الکبیر للطبرانی : 191،190/12، ح : ۱۳۰۱۲ ] The relevance of this incident with «لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتّٰى تُنْفِقُوْا مِمَّا تُحِبُّوْنَ» is also evident.

93. 1. These and the following two verses were revealed in response to the objection of the Jews, who said to the Prophet ﷺ that you ﷺ claim to be a follower of the religion of Ibrahim, and you also eat camel meat, whereas camel meat and its milk were forbidden in the religion of Ibrahim. Allah Almighty said that the claim of the Jews is incorrect; these things were not forbidden in the religion of Ibrahim. Yes, indeed, some things Israel (Prophet Ya'qub AS) had made forbidden for himself—and that was camel meat and milk (one reason for this was a vow or an illness). This act of Prophet Ya'qub AS was also before the revelation of the Torah, because the Torah was revealed long after Prophet Ibrahim AS and Prophet Ya'qub AS. So how can you make the aforementioned claim? Furthermore, in the Torah, some things were made forbidden for you (the Jews) because of your wrongdoing and rebellion. (Surah Al-An'am 46; An-Nisa 160) If you are not convinced, then bring the Torah and recite it, so that it becomes clear that in the time of Ibrahim, these things were not forbidden, and even for you, some things were made forbidden, and the reason for that was your wrongdoing and excesses, meaning their prohibition was as a punishment. (Aysar al-Tafasir)

All food was lawful for the Children of Israel except what Israel (Jacob) had made unlawful for himself before the Torah was revealed. Say to them, "Bring the Torah and read it, if you are truthful [82]."

[82]
Forbidden Items for the Jews:

This is actually a response to an objection raised by the Jews against the Muslims. They used to say to the Muslims that you have made lawful those things which the Shariah has declared unlawful. You people eat camel meat with relish and also drink its milk? Allah Almighty replied that I did not make these things unlawful, rather, long before the Torah was revealed, Jacob himself had declared them unlawful upon himself. Why did Jacob declare these things unlawful upon himself? There are several narrations regarding this, one of which is that he naturally disliked these things, and another is that he had the disease of sciatica and, as a precaution, he did so. Then, in following him, his followers also abandoned these things and actually considered them unlawful. Among these forbidden things were the fat of goats, cows, and camels as well. In the versions of the Bible that are currently in circulation, the prohibition of camel, rabbit, and hyrax is mentioned. [احبار 11، 40-41 استثناء 14: 7] Whereas, in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, the Quran, as a challenge, stated that if these things were made unlawful for Abraham ؑ in the Torah, then bring it forth and show it, and the Jews were unable to do so, which means that such additions were made, because if such rulings had existed in the Torah at that time, the Jews would have immediately presented them.