His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "Say, 'I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to an eater who eats it, except that it be a dead animal or blood poured forth or the flesh of swine, for it is impure or a transgression, dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced, neither intending to sin nor transgressing, then indeed, your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful.'" (p-480) This is a command from Allah - glorified and exalted is He - to legislate for all people; and to clarify what has been revealed to him from Allah, the Exalted. This verse was revealed in Mecca; and at that time, there was nothing forbidden in the Shariah except these things. Then the Surah of "Al-Ma'idah" was revealed in Medina; and the prohibitions were increased, such as the strangled animal, the one beaten to death, the one that fell, and the gored one. For these - even though they are in the ruling of a dead animal - there was a possibility that they could be classified with the slaughtered animals; because they occur due to causes and are not just accidental death. When the text clarified their inclusion with the dead animal, it was an addition to the prohibitions. Then the text was revealed to the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - regarding the prohibition of wine; by a revelation that was not miraculous; and regarding the prohibition of every predator with fangs. All of these are additions to the prohibitions. The term of prohibition, when it comes from the tongue of the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - is valid to conclude with the mentioned matter to the utmost of prohibition and restriction; and it is valid - according to the language - to stop short of the utmost in the realm of dislike and similar matters. So what has been accompanied by the evidence of the companions who interpret it; and all of them agreed on it; and the words of the hadiths did not differ in it; and the people acted upon its implications; it is established by the Shariah that its prohibition has reached the utmost of restriction; and it is included with swine and dead animals; and this is the nature of the prohibition of wine; and what has been accompanied by the evidence of the words of the hadith; and the ummah has differed in it; while they are aware of the hadiths; like his saying - blessings and peace be upon him -: "Every predator with fangs is forbidden." And it has been narrated that "the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - prohibited eating every predator with fangs." Then the companions and those after them differed regarding its prohibition; so it is permissible - for these reasons - for one who looks to generalize the term of prohibition to mean restriction, which is dislike; or something similar; and what has been accompanied by the evidence of interpretation, like the prohibition of him - blessings and peace be upon him - of the flesh of (p-481) domesticated donkeys; so some of the present companions interpreted this as being due to it being impure; and some of them interpreted it as being so that the burden of the people would not perish; and some of them interpreted it as absolute prohibition; and it has been established in the ummah that there is disagreement regarding the prohibition of its flesh; so it is permissible for those who look from the scholars to carry the term of prohibition - according to their ijtihad and analogy - to mean dislike; or something similar.

It was narrated from Ibn 'Amir that he read: "In what was revealed to me"; with the hamzah opened; and the ha. The majority of the people read: "He feeds him"; and Abu Ja'far, Muhammad ibn Ali, read: "He provides for him"; with the ta' doubled; and the 'ayn broken. Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiya and 'Aisha - may Allah be pleased with her - and the companions of Abdullah read: "He fed him"; in the past tense. Nafi', al-Kisai, Abu 'Amr, and 'Asim read: "Except that it be"; with the ya; on the assumption of: "Except that the food is...". Ibn Kathir, Hamza, and Abu 'Amr also read: "Except that it be"; with the ta; from above; "a dead animal"; on the assumption of: "Except that the food is...". Ibn 'Amir alone read - and it was mentioned by Makki from Abu Ja'far -: "Except that it be"; with the ta; "a dead animal"; in the nominative; on the condition that "be" is understood as "occurs"; and it is necessary - on this reading - that "blood" be added to the place of "that it be"; because it is in the position of being an exception. And "the spilled blood": the flowing; that which flows; and Allah - glorified and exalted is He - made this a distinction between the little and the much; and "the spilled blood": the flowing from the blood; and similar to this; and from it is the saying of the poet - and he is Tarafa -:

If women from us visit him, They shed tears after the lamentation.

And the saying of Imru' al-Qais:

And my cure is a tear if I shed it, And is there at a desolate place any weeping?

So the blood mixed with the flesh; and the blood that comes out from the cooking of the flesh; and what resembles this; is lawful; and the blood that is not spilled is this; and it is excused. And it was said to Abu Mijlaz - regarding the pot that has redness from the blood - he said: Allah only prohibited the spilled; and 'Aisha - may Allah be pleased with her - and others said similarly; and there is consensus among the scholars on this; and it was said: Blood is prohibited; because if it separates, it has spilled.

And "the abomination": the foul; and the forbidden; is described by this of the bodies; and the meanings; as he - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "Leave it, for it is foul"; the hadith; and likewise it was said regarding the arrows: "Abomination"; and "the abomination"; also means: the punishment; linguistically meaning "the torment"; and His saying - exalted is He -: "Or sin"; refers to their sacrifices which they dedicate to their idols.

And His saying - exalted is He -: "So whoever is compelled"; the verse; Allah - exalted is He - permitted in it - with necessity - to engage in the prohibited; without transgression; and the people differed: in what? A group said: Without the person transgressing in his eating; so he eats more than what sustains him; and reaches the point of satiety; and beyond that. And a group said: Rather, without him transgressing in that his travel is in cutting a path; or killing a soul; or that his conduct is in disobedience; for there is no allowance for that; and as for one who is not in these conditions and is compelled; then he may satisfy himself; and take provisions; and this is the well-known saying of Malik ibn Anas - may Allah have mercy on him -; and the one who said the first, which is to limit it to satisfying hunger, is Abdul Malik ibn Habib - may Allah have mercy on him.

And His saying - exalted is He -: "Indeed, your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful"; is a permission given by the strength of the wording.