6: Livestock

This chapter contains 165 late Meccan verses arranged in twenty sections. Verses
60, 63. 91,114,141 and 151-153 however all date from Madina. The chapter was
revealed after Stoneland 15 and before (Drawn Up in) Ranks 37. Livestock
here comprises first of all camels, then bovine cattle, sheep and goats which are
all mentioned in sections XVI & XVII as having been dedicated to other deities than
God Alone: consequently their presence in sacrifice did not help advance the cause
of true religion.
The beginning sections and XVI deal with the sin of associating other things
in our worship of God Alone. The chapter contains several lyric descriptions of
the Deity, such as Keys to the Unseen (VII). Two important statements are
made on the subject of tolerance in vi and XII. What might be called an Islamic
decalogue or Ten Commandments, and God's Straight Road are found in XIX. The
final section (XX) is pregnant with meaning.