Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 145

(Ayah 145) ➊ {قُلْ لَّاۤ اَجِدُ فِيْ مَاۤ اُوْحِيَ …… :} By “carrion” is meant every lawful animal that dies naturally or due to an accident (the details of which are in Surah Al-Ma’idah, Ayah 3) without being slaughtered, or is slaughtered in a manner contrary to the Shari’ah, for example, if the neck is deliberately severed with a single blow of a sharp tool, or it is killed by being immersed in extremely hot water, or by electric current, etc. In short, except for Shari’ah-compliant slaughter or hunting, all carrion is forbidden. Blood that is shed, whether from a living being or a slaughtered animal, is forbidden; however, blood that remains attached to the body, or the liver and spleen, since their blood is not shed, are lawful. The flesh of swine, for it is filth, meaning that from a health perspective it causes countless diseases, and being the most shameless of animals, its effect on those who eat it is that it is, in essence, pure filth. {’’ اَوْ فِسْقًا ‘‘} This is connected to {’’ لَحْمَ خِنْزِيْرٍ ‘‘}, meaning this too is forbidden in the same way. The meaning of {’’ فِسْقًا ‘‘} is to depart from obedience to Allah. Allah’s command is that an animal should be slaughtered in the name of Allah; therefore, any animal upon which, at the time of slaughter, the name of anyone other than Allah is invoked, is forbidden. The meaning of { ’’ اُهِلَّ ‘‘} is to proclaim aloud; if the name of anyone other than Allah is made famous upon an animal, such as saying this is Data’s goat, or Bari Imam’s cow, or it is an offering for such-and-such saint or Imam, since the intention is to please someone other than Allah so that they may, being pleased, fulfill our needs, therefore, even if “Bismillah” is recited at the time of slaughtering such an animal for their pleasure, it is still forbidden, because what matters is the intention, and the intention has already been expressed verbally by them, and the environment of the festival or grave also indicates this.

➋ { فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ …… : } That is, whoever, due to necessity, eats these forbidden things, provided he does not consider them lawful and does not exceed the need, then your Lord is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. It is explicitly stated in Surah Al-Baqarah: «فَلَاۤ اِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ » [البقرۃ : ۱۷۳ ] “There is no sin upon him.”

➌ An objection is raised on this verse that there are other forbidden things besides these, so what does it mean to say, “I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, except…”? The answer has already been given in the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (173); in summary, it is that in fact, the matter is being discussed in relation to the polytheists of that time, who had declared Bahirah, Sa’ibah, etc., forbidden, and the four things mentioned above they considered lawful and ate them. Therefore, it is said that in My revelation, the things you have declared forbidden are not forbidden; only these four things, which you eat without hesitation, are forbidden. The second answer is that up to the time these verses were revealed, only these things were forbidden; later, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade several more things, such as in the Qur’an, those relationships are mentioned with whom marriage is forbidden, and all others are made lawful, but the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in hadith forbade marrying two women who are a maternal aunt and her niece or paternal a maternal aunt and her niece together to one man. Similarly, it is proven from authentic hadiths that the Prophet (peace be upon him) declared several more animals forbidden. See the footnotes of Surah Al-Baqarah (173).

145. 1. The necessary details regarding the four prohibitions mentioned in this verse have already been discussed in the footnote of Surah Baqarah 173. Here, it is further worth clarifying that the mention of these four prohibitions is made with a word of exclusivity, which apparently suggests that besides these four types, other animals are also forbidden in Shariah. Then why is exclusivity mentioned here? The fact is that before this, the polytheists were following ignorant customs, and their statements are being narrated. Among these, some animals are also mentioned which they had forbidden on their own accord. Imam Shawkani has explained it in this way: if this verse were not Makki, then certainly the exclusivity of the prohibitions would be acceptable, but since after this, the Quran itself has mentioned some prohibitions in Surah Al-Ma'idah, and the Prophet ﷺ has also stated some prohibitions, then those will also be included among them. Besides this, the Prophet ﷺ has stated two principles for determining the permissibility and prohibition of birds and beasts, the explanation of which is also present in the aforementioned referenced footnote. "Aw fisqan" is connected to "lahm khinzeer," therefore it is in the accusative case, meaning "i.e., slaughtered for idols," those animals which are slaughtered in the name of idols or at their shrines to seek their nearness. That is, even if Allah's name is mentioned at the time of slaughtering such animals, they will still be forbidden because the intention is not to seek nearness to Allah, but to seek nearness to others besides Allah. "Fisq" is the name for departing from the obedience of the Lord. The Lord has commanded that animals be slaughtered in the name of Allah Almighty and that all should be done for His nearness and offering. If this is not done, then this itself is fisq and shirk.

145. Say: "I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, except it be carrion, or blood poured forth [157], or the flesh of swine—for that surely is impure—or a sinful offering dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is compelled (by necessity), neither being rebellious nor transgressing (the limit) [158], then surely your Lord is Forgiving, Merciful."

[157] Which things are fundamentally unlawful? This subject has already been mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 173, and Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 3. From all these places, it is understood that there are basically only four things that are unlawful:
(1) Carrion (dead meat), (2) Blood, (3) The flesh of swine, and (4) Anything that is dedicated to anyone other than Allah. In this verse, it is further clarified that by blood is meant the blood that flows out of the animal’s body at the time of slaughter, and if a little remains in the body, it is not unlawful. And in Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 3, some forms of carrion are also mentioned, i.e., whether the animal died by strangulation, by a blow, by falling from a height, or by being gored by horns. The unlawfulness of some animals and birds is established from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. [تفصيل محوله بالا آيات ميں ديكهئے]
[158] See the footnote of Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 173.