The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 277
PT. 2 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 which Allah has sent down of اِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللهُ مِنَ Those who conceal that. 175 الْكِتُبِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا the Book and take in exchange أوليك مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا for that a paltry price, they fill their bellies with nothing but "See 2:147. "See 2:42. food is available and one is in real danger of losing one's life if one does not use the unlawful food. In fact, of the four unlawful things, the first three have been declared unlawful mostly on the basis of the fact that they are injurious to physical and moral health, and it is certainly wise to permit their use in case of urgent necessity when there is real danger to life. As for the fourth thing, i. e. a food consecrated to any other being beside Allah, it is evident that it is not injurious intrinsically. It is injurious only from the point of view of faith. Therefore when such a thing is used merely to save one's life, which may be so usefully employed in the service of religion, there can be no real objection in eating it, because this extremely rare act cannot be considered or idolatry, particularly when it is performed with the sanction of God. شرك as involving unlawful food under exceptional circumstances should not become i. e. he should not exceed the limit. He should confine himself to such quantity only as is absolutely essential to save life. Thus the exceptional use is permissible only at a time when one is under bona fide constraint and is in real danger, and then only to the extent which is absolutely necessary for saving life. Though it has been declared in this verse that there is no sin in partaking of a prohibited food when no revolt or transgression is intended, yet as one might err in judging what is revolt or transgression and what is not, and thus be unconsciously guilty of breaking a divine commandment, the Quran adds the words: surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful, meaning that an unintentional deviation will be forgiven by the Merciful God. The clause also reminds a Muslim that though it has been made permissible for him to take unlawful food in exceptional circumstances, yet such circumstances may be due to certain hidden shortcomings of his own for which he should seek God's forgiveness, and that if he does so he will find God Forgiving and Merciful. In this connection see also 5:4; 6:146 Permission for the exceptional use of such things is, however, qualified by two important conditions: (1) that one who resorts to this use must not be (i. e. disobedient). There should be no lurking spirit of revolt or disobedience behind the act. The circumstances must be real and the condition genuine, and nothing should be done out of design and wilfulness; (2) that the user of & 16:116. 277