Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 6 Al-An'am, Ayat 141-144

وَهُوَ الَّذِىۡۤ اَنۡشَاَ جَنّٰتٍ مَّعۡرُوۡشٰتٍ وَّغَيۡرَ مَعۡرُوۡشٰتٍ وَّالنَّخۡلَ وَالزَّرۡعَ مُخۡتَلِفًا اُكُلُهٗ وَالزَّيۡتُوۡنَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُتَشَابِهًا وَّغَيۡرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ ​ؕ كُلُوۡا مِنۡ ثَمَرِهٖۤ اِذَاۤ اَثۡمَرَ وَاٰتُوۡا حَقَّهٗ يَوۡمَ حَصَادِهٖ​ ​ۖ وَلَا تُسۡرِفُوۡا​ ؕ اِنَّهٗ لَا يُحِبُّ الۡمُسۡرِفِيۡنَ‏ ﴿6:141﴾ وَ مِنَ الۡاَنۡعَامِ حَمُوۡلَةً وَّفَرۡشًا​ ؕ كُلُوۡا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللّٰهُ وَ لَا تَتَّبِعُوۡا خُطُوٰتِ الشَّيۡطٰنِ​ ؕ اِنَّهٗ لَـكُمۡ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِيۡنٌ ۙ‏  ﴿6:142﴾ ثَمٰنِيَةَ اَزۡوَاجٍ​ ۚ مِنَ الضَّاۡنِ اثۡنَيۡنِ وَمِنَ الۡمَعۡزِ اثۡنَيۡنِ​ ؕ قُلۡ ءٰٓالذَّكَرَيۡنِ حَرَّمَ اَمِ الۡاُنۡثَيَيۡنِ اَمَّا اشۡتَمَلَتۡ عَلَيۡهِ اَرۡحَامُ الۡاُنۡثَيَيۡنِ​ ؕ نَـبِّـُٔـوۡنِىۡ بِعِلۡمٍ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ صٰدِقِيۡنَ ۙ‏ ﴿6:143﴾ وَمِنَ الۡاِبِلِ اثۡنَيۡنِ وَمِنَ الۡبَقَرِ اثۡنَيۡنِ​ ؕ قُلۡ ءٰٓالذَّكَرَيۡنِ حَرَّمَ اَمِ الۡاُنۡثَيَيۡنِ اَمَّا اشۡتَمَلَتۡ عَلَيۡهِ اَرۡحَامُ الۡاُنۡثَيَيۡنِ​ ؕ اَمۡ كُنۡتُمۡ شُهَدَآءَ اِذۡ وَصّٰٮكُمُ اللّٰهُ بِهٰذَا​ ۚ فَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ افۡتَـرٰى عَلَى اللّٰهِ كَذِبًا لِّيُضِلَّ النَّاسَ بِغَيۡرِ عِلۡمٍ​ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَهۡدِى الۡقَوۡمَ الظّٰلِمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿6:144﴾

(6:141) It is He Who has brought into being gardens116 - the trellised and untrellised - and the palm trees, and crops, all varying in taste, and.the olive and pomegranates, all resembling one another and yet so different. Eat of their fruits when they come to fruition and pay His due on the day of harvesting. And do not exceed the proper limits, for He does not love those who exceed the proper limits. (6:142) And of the cattle (He has reared) some for burden, and some whose flesh you eat and whose skins and hair you use to spread the ground.117 Eat of the sustenance Allah has provided you and do not follow in the footsteps of Satan, for surely he is your open enemy.118 (6:143) These are eight couples, two of sheep, two of goats. Now ask them: 'Is it either the two males that Allah has forbidden or the two females, or what the wombs of the two females may contain? Tell me about this on the basis of sure knowledge, if you speak the truth.'119 (6:144) And likewise, of camels there are two, and of oxen there are two. Ask them: 'Is it either the two males that He has forbidden or the two females, or that which the wombs of the two females may contain?120 Or were you present when Allah enjoined this commandment upon you?' Who, then, would be more unjust than he who fabricates a lie against Allah that he might lead people astray without knowledge. Surely Allah never guides such a wrong-doing folk.

Notes

116. Tle Arabic expression "Jannaatim Ma'rushaatin wa khairu ma'rushatin" signifies two kinds of gardens: first, those consisting of trellised plants and, second, those consisting of trees which stand on their own.

117. The word "Farasha" (which means 'to spread, to pave, to cover the ground, floor or path') has been used in the context of cattle either (1) because they are relatively short, and in moving about seem to be touching the ground, (2) because when they are slaughtered, they have to be laid on the ground, or (3) because their skins and hair are used for furnishing purposes.

118. It becomes clear from the context that God wants to emphasize three things. First, that the orchards, fields and cattle are all bounties of God. No one else has made any contribution to them and hence no one is entitled to any share in the thanks that man ought to give Him in return for these bounties. Second, since all those things are bounties of God, one ought to follow the laws of God alone while making use of them. No one else has the right to regulate their use. To acknowledge oneself bound by customs and practices laid down by others than God, and to make offerings out of a feeling of gratitude for beneficence to someone other than God constitute acts of rebellion and amount to following Satan. Third, as God has created all these things for the fulfilment of man's needs, they should not be unnecessarily suspended from use or be regarded as prohibited. All restrictions on the use of the means of sustenance and other bounties of God based on conjecture or superstition, are not to His liking at all.

119. That is, they should come forward with arguments based on sound, reliable knowledge, rather than with arguments which have no authority except that of ancestral tradition, conjecture or superstition.

120. Questions as to whether the male offspring is lawful and the female is unlawful are presented in some detail to show how unreasonable their superstitions are. That the male offspring of an animal should be considered lawful for eating while the female be prohibited, or vice versa; and that an animal should itself be considered lawful, but not its offspring, is so manifestly unreasonable that common sense simply refuses to accept it, and no intelligent man can ever conceive such absurdities to have been sanctioned by God. Just as the superstitions in vogue among the Arabs were absurd, as the Qur'an stresses, likewise many other nations of the world follow even now irrational dietary restrictions, and believe that food and drink become polluted merely by the touch of some other people.