Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:93
All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had made unlawful to himself before the Torah was revealed. Say, [O Muhammad], "So bring the Torah and recite it, if you should be truthful."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word, exalted is He: كُلُّ الطَّعَامِ كَانَ حِلا لِبَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِلا مَا حَرَّمَ إِسْرَائِيلُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تُنَزَّلَ التَّوْرَاةُ قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِالتَّوْرَاةِ فَاتْلُوهَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ("All food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down. Say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful") (3:93).
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He means, exalted is His praise: that He had forbidden to the Children of Israel — and they are the descendants of Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm, the bosom friend of the All-Merciful — nothing of the foodstuffs before the Torah was sent down, but rather that everything was lawful (ḥalāl) for them, except that which Yaʿqūb had forbidden to himself; for his descendants forbade that in imitation of their father Yaʿqūb, without Allah having forbidden it to them in any revelation or sending-down, nor by the mouth of any messenger from Him to them, before the sending-down of the Torah.
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Then the scholars of exegesis differed concerning this prohibition for them: whether it was sent down in the Torah or not. Some of them said: when Allah, mighty and exalted, sent down the Torah, He forbade them therein that which they had already forbidden before its sending-down.
*Mention of who said that:
7399 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: "All food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down; say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful." The Jews said: we forbid only that which Israel forbade to himself, and Israel forbade only the veins. The sciatic nerve (ʿirq al-nasā) afflicted him; it would seize him by night and leave him at rest by day, and he swore that if Allah were to cure him of it, he would never again eat a vein. Then Allah forbade it to them. Thereafter He said: "say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful" — none other than I has forbidden this to you, because of your insolence. That is His word: فَبِظُلْمٍ مِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ طَيِّبَاتٍ أُحِلَّتْ لَهُمْ ("because of wrongdoing on the part of the Jews We forbade them good things that had been lawful for them") [Sūrat al-Nisāʾ: 160].
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Abū Jaʿfar said: the explanation of the verse according to this view is: all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down, for Allah forbade them thereof that which Israel had forbidden to himself, in the Torah, because of their insolence against themselves and their wrongdoing against themselves. Say, O Muḥammad: bring then, O Jews, if you deny that, the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful that Allah did not forbid that to you in the Torah, and that you forbid it only because of the prohibition that Israel imposed upon himself.
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Others said: none of that was forbidden to them; Allah did not forbid it to them in the Torah, but it is something that they forbade to themselves in imitation of their father, and thereafter they ascribed the prohibition of it to Allah. Allah, mighty and exalted, declared them liars in their ascribing of it to Him, and Allah, mighty and exalted, said to our Prophet Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: say to them, O Muḥammad: if you are truthful, bring then the Torah and recite it, that we may see whether that is in it or not; then their lie becomes clear to whoever does not know their affair.
Mention of who said that:
7400 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say, saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word "except what Israel forbade to himself": Israel is Yaʿqūb; the sciatic nerve seized him, so that he could not get through the night from his pain, while it did not trouble him by day. He swore that if Allah were to cure him, he would never again eat a vein, and that was before the sending-down of the Torah to Mūsā. The Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked the Jews: what is this that Israel forbade to himself? They said: the Torah came down with the prohibition of that which Israel forbade. Then Allah said to Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful," up to His word: فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ ("they then are the wrongdoers"); and they lied and fabricated: the Torah did not come down with that.
* * *
The explanation of the verse according to this view is: all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, both before the sending-down of the Torah and after it, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down — in the meaning of: but Israel forbade to himself a part of it before the Torah was sent down. It is as though al-Ḍaḥḥāk construed His word "except what Israel forbade to himself" as referring to the exception which the grammarians call "the disconnected exception" (al-istithnāʾ al-munqaṭiʿ).
* * *
Others said: the explanation thereof is: all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down, for that was forbidden to his descendants by the prohibition that Israel imposed upon his descendants, without Allah having forbidden it to Israel or to his descendants.
*Mention of who said that:
7401 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself": he forbade to himself the veins, and that was because he suffered from the sciatic nerve, so that he did not sleep at night. He said: by Allah, if Allah cures me of it, no child of mine shall eat it — though it was not written in the Torah! Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked a group of the People of the Book and said: why is this forbidden? They said: it is forbidden to us from the Book. Then Allah, mighty and exalted, said: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel," up to "if you are truthful."
7402 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ibn Jurayj said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: the sciatic nerve seized him — namely Israel — so that he could not get through the night because of the severity of the pain, while it did not trouble him by day. He swore that if Allah were to cure him, he would never again eat a vein, and that was before the Torah was sent down. Then the Jews said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: the Torah came down with the prohibition of that which Israel forbade to himself. Allah said to Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful"; and they lied: it is not in the Torah.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: the most soundly grounded of the views concerning this, according to us, is the view of him who said: "the meaning thereof is: all food was lawful for the Children of Israel before the Torah was sent down, except what Israel forbade to himself without Allah having forbidden it to him, for that was forbidden to them by the prohibition that their father Israel imposed upon them, without Allah having forbidden it to them in any sending-down or revelation before the Torah; until the Torah was sent down, and Allah forbade them therein what He willed and made lawful for them therein what He loved." This is a view that a group of the scholars of exegesis have expressed, and it is the meaning of the statement of Ibn ʿAbbās which we mentioned earlier.
Mention of some of those who said that:
7403 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down," and Israel is Yaʿqūb — "say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful," he says: all food was lawful for the Children of Israel before the Torah was sent down, except what Israel forbade to himself; and when Allah sent down the Torah, He forbade them therein what He willed and made lawful for them what He willed.
7404 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Qatāda, with something similar.
* * *
The scholars of exegesis differed concerning that which Israel forbade to himself.
Some of them said: that which Israel forbade to himself was the veins.
*Mention of who said that:
7405 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū Bishr informed us, on the authority of Yūsuf ibn Māhak, saying: a bedouin came to Ibn ʿAbbās and said that he had declared his wife forbidden to himself. He said: she is not forbidden to you. The bedouin said: and why not? For Allah says in His Book: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself"? Then Ibn ʿAbbās laughed and said: and what do you know of what Israel forbade to himself? Then he turned to those present and related to them, saying: Israel was afflicted with the sciatic nerves which wore him out, and he imposed upon himself before Allah the vow that, if Allah were to cure him of it, he would not eat a vein. For this reason the Jews pull the veins out of the meat.
7406 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, saying: I heard Yūsuf ibn Māhak relate that a bedouin came to Ibn ʿAbbās, and he mentioned a man who had declared his wife forbidden, and he said: she is not forbidden. The bedouin said: what do you make of the word of Allah, mighty and exalted: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself"? He said: Israel had the sciatic nerve, and he swore that if Allah were to cure him, he would not eat the veins of the meat, and she is not forbidden to you.
7407 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān al-Taymī, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz, concerning His word: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself," he said: Yaʿqūb was afflicted with the pain of the sciatic nerve, and he imposed upon himself before Allah — or: he swore, or: he declared under oath — that he would not eat it from the animals. He said: and all the veins follow upon that vein.
7408 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, saying: we were told that that which Israel forbade to himself was: that the sciatic nerves seized him one night and kept him awake, and he swore that if Allah were to cure him, he would never again eat a sciatic nerve. Thereafter his descendants went about searching out the veins and removing them from the meat.
7409 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Qatāda, with something similar, and he added thereto. He said: he swore that if Allah were to cure him, he would never again eat a vein, and thereafter his descendants went about searching out the veins and removing them from the meat. And "that which he forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down" was the veins.
7410 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "except what Israel forbade to himself," he said: Israel complained of the sciatic nerve and said: if Allah cures me, I will surely forbid the veins! And he forbade them.
7411 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Sufyān al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: Israel was afflicted with the sciatic nerve, so that he spent the night crying out, and he imposed upon himself before Allah that, if Allah were to cure him, he would not eat the veins. Then Allah, mighty and exalted, sent down: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself." Sufyān said: "he had crying out (zuqāʾ)" means: wailing.
7412 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: "except what Israel forbade to himself," he said: he complained of the sciatic nerve, and he forbade the veins.
7413 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
7414 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down," he said: Israel was afflicted with the sciatic nerve, so that he spent the night crying out, and he forbade to himself the eating of a vein.
* * *
Others said: no, "that which Israel forbade to himself" was the flesh of camels and their milk.
*Mention of who said that:
7415 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr, saying: we have heard that he had an ailment, and they said: it is the sciatic nerve. Then he said: Lord, the most beloved food to me is the flesh of camels and their milk; if You cure me, then I forbid it to myself. Ibn Jurayj said: and ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ said: the flesh of camels and their milk did Israel forbid.
7416 — Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to us, saying: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, saying: ʿAbbād related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel," he said: Israel forbade to himself the flesh of camels, and they claimed that they found in the Torah the prohibition that Israel imposed upon himself of camel flesh. But Israel had forbidden to himself the camel flesh only before the Torah was sent down, and Allah said: "bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful"; and He said: you will not find in the Torah the prohibition that Israel imposed upon himself — namely the camel flesh.
7417 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: that Israel was afflicted with the sciatic nerve, so that he had crying out by night — that is to say: wailing — he said: and he imposed upon himself that, if Allah were to cure him of it, he would not eat it — that is to say: the flesh of camels. He said: and the Jews forbade it, and he recited this verse: "all food was lawful for the Children of Israel, except what Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down; say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful," that is to say: this was before the Torah.
7418 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ḥabīb, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning: "except what Israel forbade to himself," he said: he forbade the veins and the flesh of camels. He said: he had the sciatic nerve, and he ate of their flesh and thereafter spent a night crying out, and he swore that he would never again eat it.
7419 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: "except what Israel forbade to himself," he said: he forbade the flesh of the livestock.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: the most soundly grounded of these views is the view of Ibn ʿAbbās which al-Aʿmash transmitted, on the authority of Ḥabīb, on the authority of Saʿīd, on his authority: that it was the veins and the flesh of camels, because the Jews up to this very day hold unanimously to the prohibition of that, just as their forefathers held to it. And from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, something of the like has been transmitted in a report, namely that:
7420 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bahrām, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: that a group of the Jews presented themselves before the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: O Abū al-Qāsim, tell us what food Israel forbade to himself before the Torah was sent down. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "I adjure you by Him who sent down the Torah to Mūsā: do you not know that Israel — Yaʿqūb — fell gravely ill, so that his ailment lasted long, and that he made a vow to Allah that, if Allah were to cure him of his ailment, he would forbid to himself the food and drink most beloved to him, and that the most beloved food to him was the flesh of camels, and the drink most beloved to him was their milk?" They said: O Allah, yes.
* * *
As for His word: "say: Bring then the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful," the meaning thereof is: say, O Muḥammad, to the Jews who claim that Allah forbade them in the Torah the veins, the flesh of camels, and their milk: "bring the Torah and recite it," he says: say to them: come with the Torah and recite it, that it may become clear to whoever was unaware of their lie and their false statements about Allah concerning their affair: that this is not among what I sent down in the Torah — "if you are truthful," he says: if you are in the right in your claim that Allah sent down the prohibition of that in the Torah, then bring it to us, and recite to us the prohibition of that from it.
* * *
This is merely a report from Allah concerning their lie, for they will never come with that in any valid manner. Thus Allah informed His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of their lie against Him, and made this informing of him a proof for him against them. For since that remained hidden from many of the people of their religious community, Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace — being unlettered and not belonging to their religious community — was the more likely not to know it, were it not that Allah made it known to him through a revelation from with Him. So this was for him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, one of the greatest proofs against them that he was the Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to them. For that was among the reports of their forefathers which were part of their hidden knowledge that none knew except a select company among them, save him to whom it was made known by Him from whom no hidden matter remains hidden — a prophet or a messenger — or him to whom Allah gave insight into His knowledge, of whomever He willed among His creatures.
