وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَفِسْقٌۭ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآئِهِمْ لِيُجَٰدِلُوكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ
And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him].
Eat not of that on which Allah's Name has not been pronounced, for surely it is disobedience. And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends to dispute with you, and if you obey them, then you would indeed be polytheists (121)
The Prohibition of what was Slaughtered in other than Allah's Name
This Ayah is used to prove that slaughtered animals are not lawful when Allah's Name is not mentioned over them – even if slaughtered by a Muslim. The Ayah about hunting game,
فَكُلُوا مِمَّا أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ
(So eat of what they (trained hunting dogs or birds of prey) catch for you, but pronounce the Name of Allah over it.)[5:4] supports this. The Ayah here emphasized this ruling, when Allah said,
وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ
(for surely it is disobedience.)
They say that "it" refers to eating it, and others say that it refers to the sacrifice for other than Allah. There are various Hadiths that order mentioning Allah's Name when slaughtering and hunting. The Hadith narrated by 'Adi bin Hatim and Abu Tha'labah (that the Prophet ﷺ said);
إِذَا أَرْسَلْتَ كَلْبَكَ الْمُعَلَّمَ وَذَكرتَ اسْمَ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ فَكُلْ مَا أَمْسَكَ عَلَيْكَ
(When you send your trained hunting dog and mention Allah's Name on releasing it, then eat from whatever it catches for you.)
This Hadith was collected in the Two Sahihs. The Rafi' bin Khadij narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said;
مَا أَنْهَرَ الدَّمَ وَذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ فَكُلُوهُ
(You can use what would make blood flow (i. e., slaughter) and you can eat what is slaughtered and the Name of Allah is mentioned at the time of slaughtering.)
This Hadith was also collected in the Two Sahihs. Ibn Mas'ud narrated that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said to the Jinns.
لَكُمْ كُلُّ عَظْمٍ ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ
((For food) you have every bone on which Allah's Name was mentioned on slaughtering.) Muslim collected this Hadith.
Jundub bin Sufyan Al-Bajali said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
مَنْ ذَبَحَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ فَلْيَذْبَحْ مَكَانَهَا أُخْرَى، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَبَحَ، حَتَّى صَلَّيْنَا فَلْيَذْبَحْ بِاسْمِ اللهِ
(Whoever slaughtered before he prayed (the 'Id prayer), let him slaughter another sacrifice in its place. Whoever did not offer the sacrifice before we finished the prayer, let him slaughter and mention Allah's Name.) The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith.
The Devil's Inspiration
Allah said,
وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ
(And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends to dispute with you,)
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Ishaq said that a man said to Ibn 'Umar that Al-Mukhtar claimed that he received revelation. So Ibn 'Umar said, "He has said the truth," and recited this Ayah,
وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰ أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ
(And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends...)
Abu Zamil said, "I was sitting next to Ibn 'Abbas at a time when Al-Mukhtar bin Abi 'Ubayd was performing Hajj. So a man came to Ibn 'Abbas and said, 'O Ibn 'Abbas! Abu Ishaq (Al-Mukhtar) claimed that he received revelation this night.' Ibn 'Abbas said, He has said the truth.' I was upset and said, 'Ibn 'Abbas says …