6. Al-An'aam

Allah, may He be glorified, is the One Who created gardens raised above the ground by means of stems and trellises, and spread out gardens on the surface of the earth without any stems, He is the One Who created the date palm. He produced crops which differ in their shape and taste. He is the One Who created the olive and the pomegranate, the leaves of which are similar but their fruit is different. Eat, O people, from its fruit when it bears fruit and pay its Zakat on the day of its harvest. Do not overstep the limits of the sacred law with respect to eating and spending, because Allah does not love those who overstep His limits in this and other respects. Rather, He hates such people. The One Who created all of this is the One Who has made it lawful for His servants. Therefore, the idolaters have no right to declare it unlawful.

He created for you eight types: two types of sheep, male and female, and two types of goats. Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters: Did Allah make the two males unlawful because of their being male? If they say, ‘Yes,’ then ask them: Why do you regard the females as unlawful? Or did He make the two females unlawful because of their being female? If they say, ‘Yes,’ then ask them: Why do you regard the males as unlawful? Or did He make what the wombs of the two females contain unlawful because of being contained in the womb? If they say, ‘Yes,’ then ask them: Why do you differentiate between what the wombs contain by making the male unlawful sometimes and making the female unlawful at other times? Tell me, O idolaters, what proper knowledge do you base this on, if you are truthful in your claim that the prohibition for this is from Allah?

The remainder of the eight types are a pair of camels and a pair of cattle. Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters: Did Allah make any of them unlawful due to their being male or female or due to being contained in the womb? Were you, O idolaters, present when Allah gave the instruction for the prohibition of the animals that you regard as unlawful, according to your claim? There is no greater wrong and offence than a person who makes up lies about Allah, by attributing to Him the prohibition of that which He has not prohibited, in order to mislead people from the straight path without any basis. Allah does not guide to the right path those who do wrong by making up lies about Allah.

Say, O Messenger: I do not find in what Allah has revealed to me anything forbidden except that which dies without being properly slaughtered, blood that is flowing, the meat of a pig – for that is impure and unlawful – or that which is slaughtered in the name of other than Allah (such as animals slaughtered in the name of idols). Whoever is forced by necessity to eat of these forbidden things due to extreme hunger, without looking for enjoyment by eating them and without exceeding the limit of necessity, there will be no sin on him in that. Your Lord, O Messenger, is Forgiving towards the person who is compelled to eat from that and is Compassionate towards such a person.

I made unlawful for the Jews animals whose toes were not separated (such as camels and ostriches). I also made unlawful for them the fat of cattle and sheep, except for what was attached to their backs or on their intestines or what was mixed with bone (such as the rump or flank). I repaid them for their disobedience by making these things unlawful for them. I am truthful in all that I relate.

If they deny you, O Messenger, and do not accept what you brought from your Lord, then say to them in encouragement: Your Lord is One, possessor of vast mercy. It is because of His mercy that He has given you relief and has not yet taken you to task by punishing you. Also say to them as a warning: His punishment is not averted from those who commit sins.

The idolaters will say, using Allah’s will and decree as proof for their associating partners with Him: If Allah had willed that neither we nor our ancestors associate any partners with Him we would not have done so; and if He had willed that we do not make anything unlawful for ourselves we would not have done so. Those before them also denied their messengers with similar worthless proofs saying: If Allah had willed that we do not prohibit them, we would not have done so. So they persisted in their denial until they tasted My punishment that I sent down on them. Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters: Do you have any evidence that indicates that Allah is pleased that you associate others with Him, and that you make lawful what He has prohibited, and make unlawful what He has allowed? Just because you did these actions does not mean that He is pleased with them. You are following nothing but speculation with respect to this and speculation holds no weight against the truth. You are only lying.

Say, O Messenger, to the idolaters: If you only have these weak arguments, then Allah has a decisive argument against which the excuses you present hold no weight and before which the doubts that you cling to will disappear. If Allah had willed to guide all of you to the truth, O idolaters, He would have done so.

Say, O Messenger, to these idolaters who make unlawful what Allah has allowed and who claim that it is Allah who has made it unlawful: Bring your witnesses to testify that Allah has made these things unlawful. If they testify without any knowledge that Allah has made these things unlawful, then do not believe their testimony, O Messenger, because it is false testimony. Do not follow the desires of those who let their desires rule over them. They denied His verses when they made unlawful what Allah had allowed. Do not follow those who do not have faith in the Afterlife and who associate others with their Lord. How can a person who deals with his Lord in this way be followed?