Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 145 of 165

Al-An'am 6:145

قُل لَّآ أَجِدُ فِى مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَىٰ طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُۥٓ إِلَّآ أَن يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَّسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُۥ رِجْسٌ أَوْ فِسْقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ ۚ فَمَنِ ٱضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلَا عَادٍ فَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“Say, "I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one who would eat it unless it be a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine - for indeed, it is impure - or it be [that slaughtered in] disobedience, dedicated to other than Allāh.[357] But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], then indeed, your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful."”

Saheeh International

Essence

Even the Messenger does not decide what is forbidden: he searches revelation, reports what he finds, and finds a short, merciful list.

A reflection

Even the Messenger only reports what he finds

A customer leans over a pharmacy counter. He wants to know if two of his medicines can be taken together. He is impatient, and he wants a quick yes. The senior pharmacist has thirty years behind her. She could answer from memory. Instead she turns to the formulary and runs her finger down the page. 'This is what it says,' she tells him. Her authority is greater because she does not pretend it is her own.

The ayah opens with Allah telling His Messenger ﷺ what to say: lā ajidu, I do not find. The lexicons give the root a first picture. A man has lost his camel and searched the desert for it. Wajadtu, I found it, is the moment the search ends. So the Prophet ﷺ speaks here as a searcher of revelation. He does not say 'I forbid' or 'I allow'. He says: I looked through what was revealed to me, and this is what I found.

One commentary notes the lesson in this phrasing. The only road to declaring something forbidden is a clear word from Allah. Desire and personal taste have no say. If the most honoured of creation speaks this way, where does that leave the rest of us?

The ego loves to be the one who decides. It enjoys being consulted and having the final word. Many of us have ruled on something for others, and felt a small glow in the ruling.

Someone may ask whether it is self-serving for Allah to keep all law-making for Himself. A human ruler who hoards authority does it for power or praise. Allah gains nothing from it, for He is free of all need (35:15). He keeps the right to forbid because only the Maker knows what harms what He made. And look what He did with that right here. He forbade very little, and closed with two names: ghafūr, raḥīm.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.