The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 495
PT. 8 AL-AN'ĀM CH. 6 created some for burden and b وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ حَمُولَةً وَفَرْشَا كُلُوا And of the cattle He. 143 مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوتِ some for slaughter, Eat of that الشَّيْطَنِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ which Allah has provided for you, and "follow not the footsteps of Satan. Surely, he is to you an open foe. 882 "See 2:209. One of the man-made laws pertained to the fruits of the earth (6:141 above). Therefore, the Quran gives here its laws about these. It declares them to be lawful and pure, subject only to the condition that in eating them we should "not exceed the bounds", i. e. we should only eat as much of them as is not injurious to our health and morals. (His the The pronoun in the words due) may either refer to God, or to (fruit). In the former case, sentence would mean that on the day of reaping we should give what is due to God as alms. In the latter case, it would mean that on the day of reaping we should give as charity a portion of the fruit which is in the nature of something due against it in order to make it pure. It may be noted here that there are two kinds of charity in Islam- obligatory and optional. But as, according to the practice and sayings of the Holy Prophet, 6; i. e. obligatory charity or legal alms, is not due from all the fruits named in the verse but only from the fruit of the palm tree, so if it is the obligatory charity that is meant here, then the commandment to "pay His due" will apply only to the fruit of palm trees. It is, however, better to take the verse as referring to optional charity which may be given from all kinds of fruits. The use of the imperative mood in the words "pay His due" does not necessarily make it an obligatory command, for this form of the verb is also freely used in the Quran for the purpose of exhortation. This interpretation is in keeping with the practice of the Holy Prophet's Companions who were in the habit of setting apart a portion of their produce for the poor, and such is also the practice of pious Muslims today. 882. Important Words: (for slaughter) is derived from he spread it or. فرشه They say. فرش expanded it; or he prostrated it; or he threw it down (for slaughter). means, what is spread on the ground, etc. ; a plain tract of land; a depressed tract of land; shrubs or small trees; such animals as are fit for slaughter, or such as are thrown down for slaughter (Lane). Commentary: Apart from its primary meaning the verse also hints that the eating of lawful things is a means of ensuring one against the attacks of Satan. 935