Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:121
And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him].
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَلا تَأْكُلُوا مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَى أَوْلِيَائِهِمْ لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ (121) (And do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced; verily, that is moral corruption (fisq). And verily, the devils inspire their allies to dispute with you. And if you obey them, verily, you are indeed polytheists (mushrikūn).) (6:121)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, whose praise is exalted, means by His statement (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced): do not eat, O believers, of that which has died and which you have not slaughtered yourselves, or of what a monotheist has slaughtered who submits to Allah according to the legal rules He has prescribed for him in a Book sent down, for that is forbidden to you. Nor of that over which, at the slaughtering, something other than Allah has been invoked, of what the polytheists (mushrikīn) have slaughtered for their idols, for eating it is "fisq" (moral corruption), that is to say: the disobedience of unbelief.
* * *
And He used, with His statement "wa-innahu" (and verily, that), a reference to "the eating," whereas He has mentioned only the act, just as He has said: الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا [Surah Āl ʿImrān: 173] (Those to whom the people said: "The people have gathered against you, so fear them!" But that increased them in faith), by which is meant: so their statement increased the faith, whereby He referred to "the statement," whereas the mention of it proceeded only by a verb.
* * *
— (and verily, the devils inspire their allies).
The exegetes differed regarding who is meant by His statement (and verily, the devils inspire their allies). Some of them said: by this are meant the devils of Persia and whoever of the Magians adhered to their religion — (to their allies) of the obstinate polytheists of Quraysh — who inspire them with the embellished word, by disputing with the prophet of Allah and his companions about eating the carrion.
* Mention of who said that:
13805 - ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Bishr ibn al-Ḥakam al-Nīsābūrī related to me, saying: Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Qunbārī related to us, saying: Al-Ḥakam ibn Abān related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima: When this verse was sent down, with the prohibition of the carrion, he said: Persia inspired their allies of Quraysh to combat Muḥammad — and they were their allies in the time of ignorance (jāhiliyya) — and say to him: What you have slaughtered, is that sometimes not permitted, while what Allah has slaughtered — Ibn ʿAbbās said: with a knife of gold — is forbidden?! Then Allah sent down this verse: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies) — he said: the devils are Persia, and their allies are Quraysh.
13806 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: ʿAmr ibn Dīnār said, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "The polytheists of Quraysh wrote to Persia about the Romans, and Persia wrote to them, and Persia wrote to the polytheists of Quraysh: Muḥammad and his companions claim that they follow the command of Allah, but what Allah slaughters with a knife of gold Muḥammad and his companions do not eat — namely the carrion — and what they themselves slaughter they do eat!" And the polytheists wrote that to the companions of Muḥammad, peace be upon him, and thereby something arose in some people of the Muslims. Then it was sent down: (and verily, that is moral corruption; and verily, the devils inspire) the verse, and there was sent down: يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا [Surah Al-Anʿām: 112] (they inspire one another with the embellished word in delusion).
* * *
And others said: by the devils are meant those who tempt the children of Adam: that they inspired their allies of Quraysh.
* Mention of who said that:
13807 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, saying: Among what the devils inspired their allies of mankind was: How can you worship something of which you do not eat from what it has killed, while you yourselves eat from what you have killed? Then the report was passed on until it reached the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, and then it was sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced).
13808 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās said: His statement: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies) — he said: it is Iblīs who inspires it to the polytheists of Quraysh — Ibn Jurayj said, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: the devils of the jinn inspire it to the devils of mankind: "they inspire their allies to dispute with you" — Ibn Jurayj said, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Kathīr, saying: I have heard that the devils inspire it to the adherents of polytheism, commanding them to say: What difference is there between what dies and what you slaughter — it is the same! They command them to combat Muḥammad, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, with that — (and if you obey them, verily, you are polytheists) — he said: that is the statement of the polytheists: what Allah slaughters — namely the carrion — of that you do not eat, and what you slaughter with your own hands is permitted!
13809 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmmār al-Rāzī related to us, saying: Saʿīd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: The polytheists said to the Muslims: what your Lord has killed, you do not eat, and what you yourselves have killed you do eat! Then Allah revealed to His prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced).
13810 - 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, saying: When Allah forbade the carrion, Iblīs commanded his allies and said to them: What Allah has killed for you is better than what you yourselves slaughter with your knives! Then Allah said: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced).
13811 - Yaḥyā ibn Dāwūd al-Wāsiṭī related to us, saying: Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf al-Azraq related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Hārūn ibn ʿAntara, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: The polytheists disputed with the Muslims and said: How is it that what Allah has killed you do not eat, and what you yourselves have killed you do eat, while you follow the command of Allah?! Then Allah sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced; verily, that is moral corruption), to the end of the verse.
13812 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning his statement: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies) — they say: what Allah has slaughtered, do not eat of it, and what you yourselves have slaughtered, eat of it! Then Allah sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced).
13813 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that some people of the polytheists came in to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, and said: Tell us about the sheep when it dies, who has killed it? He said: Allah has killed it. They said: Do you then claim that what you and your companions have killed is permitted, and what Allah has killed is forbidden?! Then Allah sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced).
13814 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Ḥaḍramī: that some people of the polytheists said: What the falcon and the dog have killed you do eat, and what Allah has killed you do not eat!
13815 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement: فَكُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ بِآيَاتِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ (So eat of that over which the name of Allah has been pronounced, if you are believers in His signs) — he said: they said: O Muḥammad, what you have killed and slaughtered you do eat, and what your Lord has killed you forbid! Then Allah sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced; verily, that is moral corruption; and verily, the devils inspire their allies to dispute with you; and if you obey them, verily, you are polytheists) — and if you obey them in eating what I have forbidden you, verily, then you are thus polytheists.
13816 - Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, saying: The polytheists said: What you have killed you do eat, and what your Lord has killed you do not eat! Then it was sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced).
13817 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (and if you obey them, verily, you are polytheists) — the statement of the polytheists: what Allah has slaughtered — namely the carrion — of that you do not eat, and what you have slaughtered with your own hands is permitted!
13818 - 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.
13819 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies to dispute with you) — he said: the polytheists disputed with them about the slaughtered animal and said: What you have killed with your own hands you do eat, and what Allah has killed you do not eat! — they meant "the carrion" — and this was their disputing with them.
13820 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his statement: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced; verily, that is moral corruption) the verse, he means the enemy of Allah, Iblīs, who inspired his allies of the people of error and said to them: Combat the companions of Muḥammad about the carrion and say: "What you slaughter and kill you do eat, and what Allah has killed you do not eat, while you claim to follow the command of Allah!" Then Allah sent down to His prophet: (and if you obey them, verily, you are polytheists). And by Allah, we know that there has never been polytheism except through one of three: that one invokes another god alongside Allah, or prostrates to other than Allah, or names the slaughtered animals to other than Allah.
13821 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced) — the polytheists said to the Muslims: How can you claim that you follow the good pleasure of Allah, while what Allah has slaughtered you do not eat, and what you yourselves have slaughtered you do eat? Then Allah said: If you obey them and eat the carrion, verily, then you are polytheists.
13822 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās concerning his statement: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies to dispute with you) — he said: they used to say: what Allah has been named over it and what you have slaughtered, eat of it! Then it was sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced; verily, that is moral corruption; and verily, the devils inspire their allies).
13823 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced) to His statement: (to dispute with you) — he said: he says: the devils inspire their allies: you eat what you have killed, and you do not eat of what Allah has killed! Then He said: verily, over that which you have killed the name of Allah has been pronounced, and over that which has died, the name of Allah has not been pronounced.
13824 - It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying, he said: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning his statement: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies to dispute with you) — this concerns the matter of the slaughtered animal. He said: the polytheists said to the Muslims: Do you claim that Allah has forbidden you the carrion, and permitted you what you slaughter with your own hands, and forbidden you what He Himself has slaughtered for you? How can that be, while you worship Him?! Then Allah sent down this verse: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced), to His statement: (polytheists).
* * *
And others said: those who disputed with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, about that, were people of the Jews.
* Mention of who said that:
13825 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā and Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā said: the Jews disputed with the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — and Ibn Wakīʿ said: the Jews came to the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him — and said: we eat what we have killed, and we do not eat what Allah has killed! Then Allah sent down: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced; verily, that is moral corruption).
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the most correct of the statements regarding that is that one says: Allah reported that the devils inspire their allies to dispute with the believers about their forbidding the eating of the carrion, with what we have mentioned of their disputing with them. And it is possible that the inspired ones were devils of mankind, who inspired it to their allies among them; and it is possible that they were devils of the jinn, who inspired it to their allies among mankind; and it is possible that both kinds together cooperated in that, just as Allah reported about both in the other verse in which He says: وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا [Surah Al-Anʿām: 112] (And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy: the devils of mankind and the jinn, who inspire one another with the embellished word in delusion). Indeed, that is, in my opinion, the most probable of its interpretation, for Allah informed His prophet that He had made for him enemies of the devils of the jinn and mankind, just as He had made them for His prophets before him, who inspire one another with the embellishment of false words; thereafter He let him know that those devils inspire it to their allies of mankind to dispute with him and with whoever follows him of the believers about what Allah has forbidden them of the carrion.
* * *
And the exegetes differed regarding what Allah, whose praise is exalted, meant by His prohibition of eating it — namely that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced.
Some of them said: it is the slaughtered animals which the Arabs used to slaughter for their gods.
* Mention of who said that:
13826 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā and Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, they said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: I said to ʿAṭāʾ: what is His statement: فَكُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ (So eat of that over which the name of Allah has been pronounced)? He said: He commands the pronouncing of His name over the drink and the food and the slaughtering. I said to ʿAṭāʾ: and what is His statement: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced)? He said: He forbids the slaughtered animals which in the time of ignorance (jāhiliyya) were slaughtered for the idols, which the Arabs and Quraysh used to slaughter.
* * *
And others said: it is the carrion.
* Mention of who said that:
13827 - Ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced) — he said: the carrion.
* * *
And others said: no, by this is meant every slaughtered animal over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced.
* Mention of who said that:
13828 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Jahīr ibn Yazīd, saying: al-Ḥasan was asked, a man asked him and said to him: Partridges (ṭayr karan) were brought to me; some of them are slaughtered and over them the name of Allah has been pronounced, and some have been forgotten that the name of Allah was pronounced over them, and the birds have become mixed together? Then al-Ḥasan said: Eat of them, eat of them! He said: and I asked Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, and he said: Allah has said: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced).
13829 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb and Hishām, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yazīd al-Khaṭmī, saying: Eat of the slaughtered animals of the People of the Book and the Muslims, and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced.
13830 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Hārūn related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yazīd, saying: I used to sit with him in a circle, and in it sat people of the Anṣār of whom he was the head, and when a questioner came, then it was he who questioned him while they kept silent. He said: a man came who questioned him, and he said: a man slaughtered and forgot to pronounce the name (of Allah)? Then he recited this verse: (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced), until he completed it.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct statement regarding that is that one says: Allah meant by it what is slaughtered for the idols and the gods, and what has died or has been slaughtered by someone whose slaughtered animal is not permitted. And as for whoever said: "by this is meant what the Muslim has slaughtered while forgetting to pronounce the name of Allah over it," that is a statement far removed from the correct, on account of its deviance and its departure from that upon which the authoritative tradition is in agreement regarding the permitting of it, and that in itself is a sufficient witness to its untenability. And we have set forth its untenability from the standpoint of analogy (qiyās) in our book entitled "Laṭīf al-qawl fī aḥkām sharāʾiʿ al-dīn," and that renders it unnecessary to repeat it in this place.
* * *
And as for His statement (and verily, that is moral corruption), He means: and verily, the eating of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced, of the carrion and what has been invoked with other than Allah, is moral corruption (fisq).
* * *
And the exegetes differed regarding the meaning of "al-fisq" in this place.
Some of them said: its meaning is: the disobedience.
The interpretation of the word according to this is thus: and verily, the eating of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced is a disobedience toward Allah and a sin.
* Mention of who said that:
13831 - 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, his statement: (and verily, that is moral corruption) — he said: "al-fisq" is the disobedience.
* * *
And others said: its meaning is: the unbelief (kufr).
* * *
And as for His statement: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies), we have already mentioned the disagreement of those who differed regarding who is meant by His statement (and verily, the devils inspire), and the correct statement therein. And as for their inspiring to their allies: that is their indicating to them that toward which they direct them — whether by a statement, or by a message, or by a writing.
* * *
And we have already set forth the meaning of "al-waḥy" (the inspiration) earlier, in a manner that renders it unnecessary to repeat it in this place.
And it has been related:
13832 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: ʿIkrima related to us, on the authority of Abū Zumayl, saying: I was sitting with Ibn ʿAbbās, and a man of his companions came to him, and he said: O Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Isḥāq claims that it was inspired to him (ūḥiya ilayhi) last night! — he meant al-Mukhtār ibn Abī ʿUbayd — then Ibn ʿAbbās said: He has spoken the truth! Then I was startled and said: does Ibn ʿAbbās say "he has spoken the truth"?! Then Ibn ʿAbbās said: there are two kinds of inspiration: the inspiration of Allah, and the inspiration of the devil; the inspiration of Allah is to Muḥammad, and the inspiration of the devils is to their allies. Then he recited: (and verily, the devils inspire their allies).
* * *
And as for the allies (al-awliyāʾ): they are the helpers and the supporters, in this place.
* * *
And He means by His statement (to dispute with you): to contend with you, in the meaning which I have already mentioned earlier.
* * *
And as for His statement (and if you obey them, verily, you are polytheists), He means: and if you obey them in eating the carrion and what your Lord has forbidden you; as in:
13833 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (and if you obey them) — he says: and if you obey them in eating what I have forbidden you.
13834 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (and if you obey them) — and thus eat the carrion.
* * *
And as for His statement (verily, you are polytheists), He means: verily, then you are thus equal to them, since these eat the carrion because they regard it as permitted. If you then eat it in that way, then you have become equal to them: polytheists.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the people of knowledge differed regarding this verse, whether anything of its ruling has been abrogated (mansūkh) or not. Some of them said: nothing of it has been abrogated, and it is binding (muḥkam) in that for which it is intended. And upon this position stands the generality of the people of knowledge.
* * *
And there is related from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and ʿIkrima the following:
13835 - Ibn Ḥumayd related it to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima and al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, they said: He said: فَكُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ بِآيَاتِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ (So eat of that over which the name of Allah has been pronounced, if you are believers in His signs). (And do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced; verily, that is moral corruption) — then He abrogated it and made an exception from it, and said: وَطَعَامُ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حِلٌّ لَكُمْ وَطَعَامُكُمْ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ [Surah Al-Māʾida: 5] (And the food of those who have been given the Book is permitted for you, and your food is permitted for them).
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Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct statement regarding that is, in our opinion, that this verse is binding (muḥkam) in that for which it was sent down, nothing of it has been abrogated, and that the food of the People of the Book is permitted, and their slaughtered animals are pure (dhakiyya). And that does not belong to what Allah has forbidden the believers to eat with His statement (and do not eat of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced); it stands outside of it. For Allah has, with this verse, forbidden us only the carrion, and what has been invoked for the idols (ṭawāghīt); and the slaughtered animals of the People of the Book are pure, whether they have pronounced the name (of Allah) over them or not, for they are people of monotheism and possessors of Books of Allah, who submit to the rulings thereof; they slaughter the slaughtered animals according to their religions, just as the Muslim slaughters according to his religion, whether he has pronounced Allah's name over his slaughtered animal or not — except when someone omits the pronouncing of the name of Allah over his slaughtered animal on the basis of professing the denial (of Allah), or through the worship of something besides Allah; then at that moment the eating of his slaughtered animal is forbidden, whether he has pronounced Allah's name over it or not.
