The Noble Verse
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا بِالْأَزْلَامِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ ۗ الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن دِينِكُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِ ۚ الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا ۚ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ فِي مَخْمَصَةٍ غَيْرَ مُتَجَانِفٍ لِّإِثْمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
[المائدة: 3]
Simple Translation
Forbidden (haram) to you are: dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah; [1] the animal killed by strangling, [2] the animal killed by a blow (with something blunt), [3] the animal killed by a fall, [4] the animal killed by goring, [5] and that which a wild beast has eaten — [6] except what you have slaughtered (properly while it was still alive). [7] And (also forbidden is) that which is sacrificed on stone altars (of idols), [8] and seeking to determine your fortune by divining arrows. [9] All of these are acts of sin. Today those who disbelieve have despaired of (prevailing against) your religion; so do not fear them, but fear Me alone. Today I have perfected your religion (Islam) for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger (to eat something forbidden), without deliberately inclining towards sin — then indeed Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful (to him). [10]
Brief Tafsir
[1] From here begins the discussion of the forbidden (haram) animals that were alluded to at the beginning of the surah. This part of the verse has already been mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah. (See verse 2:173)
[2] An animal that has been strangled to death, or that has itself somehow been caught in a noose and died of suffocation — in both cases, eating this dead (animal) is haram.
[3] That is, an animal that has died without slaughter because it was struck with a stone, a stick or some other object. In the Days of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), such animals were eaten (as though lawful). The Islamic Shari'ah has forbidden this. Animals hunted with a gun: the scholars differ regarding an animal hunted with a gun. Imam ash-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him), citing evidence from a hadith, declared an animal hunted with a gun to be lawful. That is, if (the hunter) fires the shot saying 'Bismillah' and the game dies before it can be slaughtered, then according to his view it is permissible to eat. (Fath al-Qadir) (According to another view, game shot with a bullet that pierces the animal's body, cutting the skin and causing blood to flow, is lawful. However, if it does not pierce the body and the animal dies merely from the impact, it is not permissible to eat.) (Silsilah as-Sahihah 5/511)
[4] (An animal) that dies from falling in some way, or from being pushed off a mountain or some other high place.
[5] نطيحة (Natihah) or منطوحة (Mantuhah) is the term for an animal that has been butted by another animal's horns, or that died without being slaughtered in a fight with horns.
[6] That is, (an animal) that has died because a wild beast such as a lion, a leopard or a wolf (an animal of prey with fangs) caught it in order to eat it. In the Days of Ignorance, such dead animals were eaten. (But Islam has forbidden eating such dead animals.)
[7] According to most commentators, this exception refers to the previously mentioned animal killed by strangling, the animal killed by a blow, the animal killed by a fall, the animal killed by goring, and the animal eaten by a wild beast. That is, the exception is this: if you find any of these animals in a state where it has not yet died and is still alive, and you then slaughter it according to the Shari'ah method, it will be lawful for you to eat. The sign of its being alive is that its legs move at the time of slaughter. But if this does not happen when the knife is drawn, then it should be understood that the animal is dead. The Shari'ah method of slaughter (dhabh) is to say 'Bismillah' and pass a sharp knife across its throat in such a way that all its major vessels are cut. Besides dhabh, 'nahr' is also permissible in the Shari'ah; its method is to strike the animal on the upper chest with a knife (or spear) while it is standing, so that its windpipe and main blood vessels are cut and all its blood flows out.
[8] The polytheists used to set up stones or other objects near their idols, making a designated place, which was called نصب (Nusub — an altar, shrine or sacred site). At that place they would sacrifice animals vowed in the name of that idol. That is, this is one form of {وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ اللهِ} (that which is slaughtered for other than Allah). It is therefore evident from this that the animals (chickens, goats, etc.) that people slaughter or offer at shrines, graves and dargahs to fulfil their wishes and to win the pleasure of the saint buried there — or the pulao or (sweets, shirni) food they distribute there — are haram to eat. All of this falls under Allah's words: {وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ}.
[9] Two meanings have been given for the phrase {وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالأَزْلاَمِ}: (a) distributing by means of arrows, and (b) seeking one's fortune by means of arrows. Regarding the first meaning, it is said that these arrows were used (as a lottery) in gambling and the like to distribute the meat of slaughtered animals, as a result of which some received more than their due share while others were completely deprived. Regarding the second meaning, it is said that there were special arrows with which they would test their fortune before beginning any undertaking. They had made three kinds of arrows: on one was written (افْعَلْ), meaning 'Do it'; on the second (لاَ تَفْعَلْ), meaning 'Do not do it'; and on the third nothing was written. When seeking their fortune, if the first arrow (marked 'Do it') came out, they would carry out the undertaking; if the second arrow (marked 'Do not do it') came out, they would not carry it out; and if the third arrow (with nothing written on it) came out, they would seek their fortune again. This too is a kind of soothsaying and merely a form of seeking help from other than Allah. For this reason it has been made haram (in Islam). استقسام (Istiqsam) means seeking to determine one's fortune.
[10] Here, permission has been given to eat the aforementioned forbidden food in a state of extreme hunger. However, the intention in doing so must not be disobedience to Allah, and one must not transgress the limits. That is, one should eat no more than what is necessary to save one's life.
[2] An animal that has been strangled to death, or that has itself somehow been caught in a noose and died of suffocation — in both cases, eating this dead (animal) is haram.
[3] That is, an animal that has died without slaughter because it was struck with a stone, a stick or some other object. In the Days of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah), such animals were eaten (as though lawful). The Islamic Shari'ah has forbidden this. Animals hunted with a gun: the scholars differ regarding an animal hunted with a gun. Imam ash-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him), citing evidence from a hadith, declared an animal hunted with a gun to be lawful. That is, if (the hunter) fires the shot saying 'Bismillah' and the game dies before it can be slaughtered, then according to his view it is permissible to eat. (Fath al-Qadir) (According to another view, game shot with a bullet that pierces the animal's body, cutting the skin and causing blood to flow, is lawful. However, if it does not pierce the body and the animal dies merely from the impact, it is not permissible to eat.) (Silsilah as-Sahihah 5/511)
[4] (An animal) that dies from falling in some way, or from being pushed off a mountain or some other high place.
[5] نطيحة (Natihah) or منطوحة (Mantuhah) is the term for an animal that has been butted by another animal's horns, or that died without being slaughtered in a fight with horns.
[6] That is, (an animal) that has died because a wild beast such as a lion, a leopard or a wolf (an animal of prey with fangs) caught it in order to eat it. In the Days of Ignorance, such dead animals were eaten. (But Islam has forbidden eating such dead animals.)
[7] According to most commentators, this exception refers to the previously mentioned animal killed by strangling, the animal killed by a blow, the animal killed by a fall, the animal killed by goring, and the animal eaten by a wild beast. That is, the exception is this: if you find any of these animals in a state where it has not yet died and is still alive, and you then slaughter it according to the Shari'ah method, it will be lawful for you to eat. The sign of its being alive is that its legs move at the time of slaughter. But if this does not happen when the knife is drawn, then it should be understood that the animal is dead. The Shari'ah method of slaughter (dhabh) is to say 'Bismillah' and pass a sharp knife across its throat in such a way that all its major vessels are cut. Besides dhabh, 'nahr' is also permissible in the Shari'ah; its method is to strike the animal on the upper chest with a knife (or spear) while it is standing, so that its windpipe and main blood vessels are cut and all its blood flows out.
[8] The polytheists used to set up stones or other objects near their idols, making a designated place, which was called نصب (Nusub — an altar, shrine or sacred site). At that place they would sacrifice animals vowed in the name of that idol. That is, this is one form of {وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ اللهِ} (that which is slaughtered for other than Allah). It is therefore evident from this that the animals (chickens, goats, etc.) that people slaughter or offer at shrines, graves and dargahs to fulfil their wishes and to win the pleasure of the saint buried there — or the pulao or (sweets, shirni) food they distribute there — are haram to eat. All of this falls under Allah's words: {وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ}.
[9] Two meanings have been given for the phrase {وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالأَزْلاَمِ}: (a) distributing by means of arrows, and (b) seeking one's fortune by means of arrows. Regarding the first meaning, it is said that these arrows were used (as a lottery) in gambling and the like to distribute the meat of slaughtered animals, as a result of which some received more than their due share while others were completely deprived. Regarding the second meaning, it is said that there were special arrows with which they would test their fortune before beginning any undertaking. They had made three kinds of arrows: on one was written (افْعَلْ), meaning 'Do it'; on the second (لاَ تَفْعَلْ), meaning 'Do not do it'; and on the third nothing was written. When seeking their fortune, if the first arrow (marked 'Do it') came out, they would carry out the undertaking; if the second arrow (marked 'Do not do it') came out, they would not carry it out; and if the third arrow (with nothing written on it) came out, they would seek their fortune again. This too is a kind of soothsaying and merely a form of seeking help from other than Allah. For this reason it has been made haram (in Islam). استقسام (Istiqsam) means seeking to determine one's fortune.
[10] Here, permission has been given to eat the aforementioned forbidden food in a state of extreme hunger. However, the intention in doing so must not be disobedience to Allah, and one must not transgress the limits. That is, one should eat no more than what is necessary to save one's life.