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173. " verily, he has forbidden you only carrion, blood, swineflesh,
and whatever has other (name) than allah's been invoked upon it.
but whoever is forced (by necessity),
not desiring nor transgressing, no sin shall be on him;
surely allah is forgiving, merciful."
commentary:
following the previous subject, this verse states that certain edible
things are lawful to eat, and we should not prohibit the lawful things of
allah to ourselves opinionatedly and because of some vain
imaginations. yet, allah has forbidden us carrion, blood, swineflesh or
the flesh of any animal slaughtered invoking the name of anybody else
other than god, as it says:
" verily, he has forbidden you only carrion, blood, swineflesh,
and whatever has other (name) than allah's been invoked upon it. ..."
there are some logical and acceptable reasons cited for this
divine law of prohibition, of course. for example, it is narrated from
imam sadiq (a.s.) who said:
" no one obtains anything from carrion but weakness of his body, decrease
of his strength, and cease of his offspring. and, the consumer of carrion dies
not but by a sudden death. those who consume blood (as food stuff)
become hard-hearted. ..." 1
according to some hygienical advice, the flesh of swine is the
carrier of two kinds of microbes called tapeworms and trichina. (the
latter is a very small nematode worm trichinella, whose larvae infest the
intestines and voluntary muscles of man, pigs etc., causing trichinosis).
today, it is forbidden to use swineflesh even in some eastern countries.
in former divine religions, such as the religion of the jews, the flesh of
swine has been held in great detestation. in the bible, the sinners are
also likened to swine.
there is an exception, of course, where the term /qayrabaqin/
denotes not for enjoyment but forced by unavoidable necessity, and
term / `adin / means without any intention to revolt against the
prescribed laws of allah or not exceeding the bare limits of the actual
want or the bare necessity. if anybody under circumstances beyond his
control or forced by necessity, to save his life, takes such things, it will
not be a sin upon him.
"...but whoever is forced (by necessity),
not desiring nor transgressing, no sin shall be on him; ..."
this permission is because of the mercy and grace of allah, as
the verse itself says:
"...surely allah is forgiving, merciful."
it is cited in tafsir-i-nur-uth-thaqalayn in an expressive tradition
from imam sadiq (a.s.) who said: " whoever is forced (to eat) carrion or
blood, or swineflesh and he avoids eating something of it until he dies, then
he is an infidel." 2
explanations:
1. islam has paid full attention to the problem of food-stuffs. it
has frequently warned muslims against the putrid, harmful, and unlawful
food. the prohibition of swineflesh, carrion and blood is found in four
occurrences in the qur'an. the messages of this prohibition were
preached two times in medina and two times in mecca.
2. considering allah, and invoking his name at the time of
slaughtering animals, is necessary. this is to warn us to know and be
aware that everything belongs to allah and therefore, none of our
deeds should be done out of the circle of theism.
3. islam is a complete and an easy religion. it stops in no
circumstance. every ritual duty or religious prohibition can be changed
when there is emergency.
4. no one must misuse the necessary circumstances in this respect.
general conclusion:
here in this verse, and in the similar other verses of the qur'an,
is laid down the principle of the islamic law to be observed under
normal conditions and the law of exception for the state of emergency.
the things forbidden under normal conditions may be permissible in the
emergency. the spirit of the law to be observed in both the cases is the
sense of obedience, and sticking to the prescribed limits. under no
circumstances any revolt against any law is allowed.
1 wasa'il-ush-shi`ah, vol. 16, p. 310
2 tafsir-i-nur-uth-thaqalayn, vol. 1, p. 155
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