Al-Qur'an Surah Al-An'am Verse 121

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Do not eat that (meat) over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced. This is surely a sin. The satans inspire their friends to dispute with you. If you were to obey them, you would be Mushriks.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Do not eat of what is not slaughtered in Allah’s Name. For that would certainly be ˹an act of˺ disobedience. Surely the devils whisper to their ˹human˺ associates to argue with you.[[ Because Muslims are allowed to eat the meat of animals slaughtered properly and not carrion, the pagans of Mecca used to argue, “Why are you only allowed to eat what you yourselves kill but not what Allah causes to die?”]] If you were to obey them, then you ˹too˺ would be polytheists.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Do not eat of that [meat] over which the name of Allah is not mentioned, for this is a grave disobedience. But the devils whisper to their [human] friends to argue with you; if you were to obey them, you would surely become polytheists.

A. J. Arberry

And eat not of that over which God's Name has not been mentioned; it is ungodliness. The Satans inspire their friends to dispute with you; if you obey them, you are idolaters.

Abdul Haleem

and do not eat anything over which God’s name has not been pronounced, for that is breaking the law. The evil ones incite their followers to argue with you: if you listen to them, you too will become idolaters.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And eat not of that whereon the name of Allah hath not been pronounced; for verily that is a departure. Verily the Satans are ever inspiring their friends that they may wrangle with you; and were ye to obey them, verily ye shall become associaters indeed.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Eat not of (meats) on which Allah's name hath not been pronounced; That would be impiety. But the evil ones ever inspire their friends to contend with you if ye were to obey them, ye would indeed be Pagans.

Abul Ala Maududi

Do not eat of (the animal) over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced (at the time of its slaughtering), for that is a transgression. And behold, the evil ones do inspire doubts and objections into the hearts of their friends so that they dispute with you; but if you obey them, you will surely yourselves turn into those who associate others with Allah in His divinity.

Ahmed Ali

Do not eat of that over which God's name has not been pronounced, for that would amount to exceeding the limits of law. Certainly the devils inspire their proteges to dispute with you: If you obey them, you will surely become an idolater.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And do not eat that on which Allah’s name has not been mentioned, and indeed that is disobedience; and undoubtedly the devils inspire in the hearts of their friends to fight with you; and if you obey them, you are then polytheists.

Ali Quli Qarai

Do not eat [anything] of that over which Allah’s Name has not been mentioned, and that is indeed transgression. Indeed the satans inspire their friends to dispute with you; and if you obey them, you will indeed be polytheists.

Ali Ünal

And do not eat of that which is slaughtered in the name of other than God and over which God’s Name has not been pronounced (at the time of its slaughtering), for that is indeed a transgression. And the satans do whisper and make suggestions to their confidants to contend with you. If you obey them, you are indeed those who associate partners with God.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And do not eat of that on which Allâh´s name has not been pronounced, for it is the sure (product of) disobedience. Certainly, the evil ones suggest their friends to dispute with you, and if you obey them, you shall invariably become polytheists.

English Literal

And do not eat/consume from what God`s name was not mentioned on it, and that it truly is debauchery (E) , and that the devils inspire/transmit (E) to their patrons/supporters to argue/dispute with you, and if you obeyed them, that you are (then) sharers/takers of partners (with God) (E).

Faridul Haque

And do not eat that on which Allah’s name has not been mentioned, and indeed that is disobedience; and undoubtedly the devils inspire in the hearts of their friends to fight with you; and if you obey them, you are then polytheists.

Hamid S. Aziz

But consume not of that over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced, for, verily, it is an abomination. Verily, the devils inspire their friends to dispute with you. But if you obey them, then you will be, indeed, idolaters.

Hilali & Khan

Eat not (O believers) of that (meat) on which Allah's Name has not been pronounced (at the time of the slaughtering of the animal), for sure it is Fisq (a sin and disobedience of Allah). And certainly, the Shayatin (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you obey them [by making Al-Maytatah (a dead animal) legal by eating it], then you would indeed be Mushrikun (polytheists) [because they (devils and their friends) made lawful to you to eat that which Allah has made unlawful to eat and you obeyed them by considering it lawful to eat, and by doing so you worshipped them, and to worship others besides Allah is polytheism].

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And avoid open sins and secret ones. Surely they who earn sin will be rewarded for what they have earned.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And do not eat of that on which Allah's name has not been mentioned, and that is most surely a transgression; and most surely the Shaitans suggest to their friends that they should contend with you; and if you obey them, you shall most surely be polytheists.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And eat not of that whereon Allah's name hath not been mentioned, for lo! it is abomination. Lo! the devils do inspire their minions to dispute with you. But if ye obey them, ye will be in truth idolaters.

Muhammad Sarwar

Do not eat the flesh of an animal which has been slaughtered without a mention of the Name of God; it is a sinful deed. Satan teaches his friends to argue with you. If you obey them, you will certainly be idol worshippers.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Do not eat from that which the Name of Allah has not been mentioned, for it is a sin. The satans will reveal to their guided ones to argue with you. If you obey them, you shall indeed become idolaters.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Eat not of that on which Allah's Name has not been pronounced, for surely it is disobedience. And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends to dispute with you, and if you obey them, then you would indeed be polytheists.

Wahiduddin Khan

and do not eat anything over which God's name has not been pronounced, for that surely is disobedience. The devils inspire their followers to argue with you. If you obey them, you will become of those who associate partners with God.

Talal Itani

And do not eat from that over which the Name of God was not pronounced, for it is abomination. The devils inspire their followers to argue with you; but if you obey them, you would be polytheists.

Tafsir jalalayn

And do not eat from that over which God's Name has not been invoked, where it has died or been sacrificed to other than His Name -- otherwise, what a Muslim sacrifices and does not invoke God's Name over, whether intentionally or forgetfully, is lawful, as was stated by Ibn `Abbs, and this is the opinion of al-Shfi` -- verily it, the eating thereof, is wickedness, a contravention of what is lawful. And truly the devils inspire, whisper [to], their friends, the disbelievers, to dispute with you, in deeming carrion lawful; and if you obey them, in this [matter], you are truly idolaters.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Prohibition of what was Slaughtered in other than Allah's Name

Allah says;

وَلَا تَأْكُلُواْ مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ اسْمُ اللّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ

Eat not of that on which Allah's Name has not been pronounced, for surely it is disobedience.

This Ayah is used to prove that slaughtered animals are not lawful when Allah's Name is not mentioned over them -- even if slaughtered by a Muslim.

The Ayah about hunting game,
فَكُلُواْ مِمَّا أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَاذْكُرُواْ اسْمَ اللّهِ عَلَيْهِ
(So eat of what they (trained hunting dogs or birds of prey) catch for you, but pronounce the Name of Allah over it), (5;4) supports this.

The Ayah here emphasized this ruling, when Allah said,
وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ
(for surely it is disobedience). They say that

"it" refers to eating it, and others say that it refers to the sacrifice for other than Allah.

There are various Hadiths that order mentioning Allah's Name when slaughtering and hunting.

The Hadith narrated by Adi bin Hatim and Abu Thalabah (that the Prophet said);

إِذَا أَرْسَلْتَ كَلْبَكَ الْمُعَلَّمَ وَذَكْرتَ اسْمَ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ فَكُلْ مَا أَمْسَكَ عَلَيْك

When you send your trained hunting dog and mention Allah's Name on releasing it, then eat from whatever it catches for you.

This Hadith was collected in the Two Sahihs.

The Rafi bin Khadij narrated that the Prophet said;

مَا أَنْهَرَ الدَّمَ وَذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ فَكُلُوه

You can use what would make blood flow (i.e., slaughter) and you can eat what is slaughtered and the Name of Allah is mentioned at the time of slaughtering.

This Hadith was also collected in the Two Sahihs.

Ibn Mas`ud narrated that Allah's Messenger said to the Jinns.

لَكُمْ كُلُّ عَظْمٍ ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللهِ عَلَيْه

(For food) you have every bone on which Allah's Name was mentioned on slaughtering.

Muslim collected this Hadith.

Jundub bin Sufyan Al-Bajali said that the Messenger of Allah said,

مَنْ ذَبَحَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ فَلْيَذْبَحْ مَكَانَهَا أُخْرَى وَمَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَبَحَ حَتَّى صَلَّيْنَا فَلْيَذْبَحْ بِاسْمِ الله

Whoever slaughtered before he prayed (the `Id prayer), let him slaughter another sacrifice in its place. Whoever did not offer the sacrifice before we finished the prayer, let him slaughter and mention Allah's Name.

The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith.
The Devil's Inspiration

Allah said,

وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَى أَوْلِيَأيِهِمْ لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ

And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends to dispute with you,

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that Abu Ishaq said that;

a man said to Ibn Umar that Al-Mukhtar claimed that he received revelation.

So Ibn Umar said, "He has said the truth," and recited this Ayah,
وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَى أَوْلِيَأيِهِمْ
(And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends...).

Abu Zamil said,

"I was sitting next to Ibn Abbas at a time when Al-Mukhtar bin Abi Ubayd was performing Hajj. So a man came to Ibn Abbas and said, `O Ibn `Abbas! Abu Ishaq (Al-Mukhtar) claimed that he received revelation this night.'

Ibn Abbas said, He has said the truth.'

I was upset and said, `Ibn Abbas says that Al-Mukhtar has said the truth.'

Ibn Abbas replied, `There are two types of revelation, one from Allah and one from the devil. Allah's revelation came to Muhammad, while the Shaytan's revelation comes to his friends.'

He then recited,
وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَى أَوْلِيَأيِهِمْ
(And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends...).

We also mentioned Ikrimah's commentary on the Ayah,
يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا
(Inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion). (6;112)

Allah said next,
لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ
(to dispute with you),

Ibn Jarir recorded that Ibn Abbas commented;
وَلَا تَأْكُلُواْ مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ اسْمُ اللّهِ عَلَيْهِ
(Eat not of that on which Allah's Name has not been mentioned...) until,
لِيُجَادِلُوكُمْ
(...to dispute with you),

"The devils inspire their loyal supporters, `Do you eat from what you kill but not from what Allah causes to die"'

As-Suddi said;

"Some idolators said to the Muslims, `You claim that you seek Allah's pleasure. Yet, you do not eat what Allah causes to die, but you eat what you slaughter.'

Allah said,
وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ
(and if you obey them...), and eat dead animals,
إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ
then you would indeed be polytheists."

Similar was said by Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and several others among scholars of the Salaf.
Giving Preference to Anyone's Saying Over the Legislation of Allah is Shirk

Allah's statement,

وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ



and if you obey them, then you would indeed be polytheists.

means, when you turn away from Allah's command and Legislation to the saying of anyone else, preferring other than what Allah has said, then this constitutes Shirk.

Allah said in another Ayah,

اتَّخَذُواْ أَحْبَـرَهُمْ وَرُهْبَـنَهُمْ أَرْبَاباً مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ

They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah. (9;31)

In explanation of this Ayah, At-Tirmidhi recorded that;

Adi bin Hatim said, "O Allah's Messenger! They did not worship them."

The Prophet said,

بَلَى إِنَّهُمْ أَحَلُّوا لَهُمُ الْحَرَامَ وَحَرَّمُوا عَلَيْهِمُ الْحَلَلَ فَاتَّبعُوهُمْ فَذَلِكَ عِبَادَتُهُمْ إِيَّاهُم

Yes they did. They (monks and rabbis) allowed the impermissible for them and they prohibited the lawful for them, and they followed them in that. That was their worship of them.