6.142
Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs
(And of the cattle) He creates of the cattle (some for burdens) like camels and oxen, (some for food) and some not for burdens such as sheep and young camels. (Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed upon you) of crops and cattle, (and follow not the footsteps of the devil) what the devil has made seem fair by forbidding some crops and cattle, (for lo! he is an open foe to you) whose enmity is quite manifest, for he commands you to forbid some crops and cattle.
And He produces of the cattle some for burden fit to bear loads such as the large mature camels and some for light support not fit for these load-bearing tasks such as young camels or sheep such cattle are called farsh because they are like ‘bedding farsh spread on the ground’ on account of their physical closeness to it; eat of that which God has provided you and do not follow the steps of Satan his methods of forbidding things or deeming them lawful. Surely he is a manifest foe to you one whose enmity is evident.
Allah states that He created everything, including the produce, fruits and cattle that the idolators mishandled by their misguided ideas, dividing them into various designated parts, allowing some and prohibiting some. Allah said,
(And it is He Who produces gardens Ma`rushat and not Ma`rushat,) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented, "Ma`rushat refers to what the people trellise, while `not Ma`rushat' refers to fruits (and produce) that grow wild inland and on mountains.'' `Ata' Al-Khurasani said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Ma`rushat are the grapevines that are trellised, while `not Ma`rushat' refers to grapevines that are not trellised.'' As-Suddi said similarly. As for these fruits being similar, yet different, Ibn Jurayj said, "They are similar in shape, but different in taste.'' Muhammad bin Ka`b said that the Ayah,
كُلُواْ مِن ثَمَرِهِ إِذَآ أَثْمَرَ
(Eat of their fruit when they ripen,) means, "(Eat) from the dates and grapes they produce.'' Allah said next,
وَءَاتُواْ حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ
(but pay the due thereof on the day of their harvest, ) Mujahid commented, "When the poor people are present (on the day of harvest), give them some of the produce.'' `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Mujahid commented on the Ayah,
وَءَاتُواْ حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ
(but pay the due thereof on the day of their harvest.) "When planting, one gives away handfuls (of seed grains) and on harvest, he gives away handfuls and allows them to pick whatever is left on the ground of the harvest.'' Ath-Thawri said that Hammad narrated that Ibrahim An-Nakha`i said, "One gives away some of the hay.'' Ibn Al-Mubarak said that Shurayk said that Salim said that Sa`id bin Jubayr commented;
وَءَاتُواْ حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِ
(but pay the due thereof on the day of their harvest,) "This ruling, giving the poor the handfuls (of seed grains) and some of the hay as food for their animals, was before Zakah became obligatory.'' Allah has chastised those who harvest, without giving away a part of it as charity. Allah mentioned the story of the owners of the garden in Surat Nun,
(When they swore to pluck the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. Without saying: "If Allah wills." Then there passed by on the (garden) a visitation (fire) from your Lord at night, burning it while they were asleep. So the (garden) became black by the morning, like a pitch dark night (in complete ruins). Then they called out one to another as soon as the morning broke. Saying: "Go to your tilth in the morning, if you would pluck the fruits." So they departed, conversing in secret low tones (saying). "No poor person shall enter upon you into it today." And they went in the morning with strong intention, thinking that they have power (to prevent the poor taking anything of the fruits therefrom). But when they saw the (garden), they said: "Verily, we have gone astray." (Then they said): "Nay! Indeed we are deprived of (the fruits)!" The best among them said: "Did I not tell you, why say you not: `If Allah wills'." They said: "Glory to Our Lord! Verily, we have been wrongdoers.'' Then they turned one against another, blaming. They said: "Woe to us! We have transgressed. We hope that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this. Truly, we turn to our Lord." Such is the punishment (in this life), but truly, the punishment of the Hereafter is greater if they but knew.) 68:18-33.
(And waste not by extravagance. Verily, He likes not the wasteful.) It was said that the extravagance prohibited here refers to excessive charity beyond normal amounts. Ibn Jurayj said, "This Ayah was revealed concerning Thabit bin Qays bin Shammas, who plucked the fruits of his date palms. Then he said to himself, `This day, every person who comes to me, I will feed him from it.' So he kept feeding (them) until the evening came and he ended up with no dates. Allah sent down,
(And waste not by extravagance. Verily, He likes not the wasteful.)'' Ibn Jarir recorded this statement from Ibn Jurayj. However, thhe apparent meaning of this Ayah, and Allah knows best, is that;
(Eat of their fruit when they ripen, but pay the due thereof on the day of their harvest, and waste not...) refers to eating, meaning, do not waste in eating because this spoils the mind and the body. Allah said in another Ayah,
وكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ وَلاَ تُسْرِفُواْ
(And eat and drink but waste not by extravagance.) 7: 31 In his Sahih, Al-Bukhari recorded a Hadith without a chain of narration; a
(Eat, drink and clothe yourselves without extravagance or arrogance.) Therefore, these Ayat have the same meaning as this Hadith. and Allah knows best.
Benefits of Cattle
Allah's statement,
وَمِنَ الأَنْعَـمِ حَمُولَةً وَفَرْشًا
(And of the cattle (are some) for burden and (some smaller) for Farsh.) means, He created cattle for you, some of which are suitable for burden, such as camels, and some are Farsh. Ath-Thawri narrated that Abu Ishaq said that Abu Al-Ahwas said that `Abdullah said that `animals for burden' are the camels that are used for carrying things, while, `Farsh', refers to small camels. Al-Hakim recorded it and said, "Its chain is Sahih and they did not record it.'' `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that `animals for burden' refers to the animals that people ride, while, `Farsh' is that they eat (its meat) and milk it. The sheep is not able to carry things, so you eat its meat and use its wool for covers and mats (or clothes). This statement of `Abdur-Rahman is sound, and the following Ayat testify to it,
(Do they not see that We have created for them of what Our Hands have created, the cattle, so that they are their owners. And We have subdued them unto them so that some of them they have for riding and some they eat.) 36:71-72, and,
(And verily, in the cattle, there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from between excretions and blood, pure milk; palatable to the drinkers.) 16:66, until,
(And of their wool, fur and hair, furnishings and articles of convenience, comfort for a while.) 16:80.
Eat the Meat of These Cattle, But Do Not Follow Shaytan's Law Concerning Them
Allah said,
كُلُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ
(Eat of what Allah has provided for you,) of fruits, produce and cattle. Allah created all these and provided you with them as provision.
وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ
(and follow not the footsteps of Shaytan.) meaning, his way and orders, just as the idolators followed him and prohibited fruits and produce that Allah provided for them, claiming that this falsehood came from Allah.
إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ
(Surely, he is to you) meaning; Shaytan, O people, is to you,
عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
(an open enemy) and his enmity to you is clear and apparent. Allah said in other Ayat,
(Surely, Shaytan is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers) that they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire. ) 35:6 and,
(O Children of Adam! Let not Shaytan deceive you, as he got your parents out of Paradise, stripping them of their raiment, to show them their private parts.) 7:27 and,
(Will you then take him (Iblis) and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you What an evil is the exchange for the wrongdoers.)18:50 There are many other Ayat on this subject.
6.141-144
Maududi - Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an
The original Arabic words Jannat-im-ma iushat-in literally mean gardens of creepers, trellised, and has been translated into vineyards; wa ghaira ma 'rushat-in literally mean gardens of plants that are un-trellised and has been translated into gardens of up-right trees.
The original Arabic word farsh refers to animals (like sheep etc.,) in the sense that they are of small size and almost touch the ground while they are moving about, or in the sense that they are laid on the ground at the time of slaughter, or in the sense that beds are made of their skins and hair.
From the context in which this verse (142) occurs, it is obvious that Allah wills to impress three things: (1) "The gardens, the fields and the animals you possess, have all been bestowed by Allah, and none else has any share in this favor and, therefore, none else is entitled to any gratitude for this." (2) "As none else has any share in this favor, these should be used in accordance with the Law of Allah, and none else has any right to prescribe limits for their use; therefore the one who observes the rituals prescribed by any one other than Allah, transgresses the limits prescribed by Allah and follows the ways of Satan." (3) "All these things have been created by Allah for food and other uses for mankind and none has any right to make these unlawful without "knowledge." Therefore Allah does not approve of the restrictions that have been imposed on these things, as a result of superstitions and presumptions.
That is, "Your answer should be based on knowledge and not on mere presumptions, superstitions or the traditions of your forefathers."
The question whether some animals of the same family are lawful and others unlawful, has been posed with such a detail so that the absurdity of their superstitions may become obvious even to them. It is absurd on the face of it that the male of the same family should be lawful and the female unlawful, or conversely, the female should be lawful and the male unlawful, or the animal should be lawful, but the young one of the same be unlawful: This is such a nonsensical thing that no right thinking person, nay, no man in his senses, can imagine that Allah could ever impose such unreasonable restrictions. It should be noted that the method applied by the Qur'an to show the absurdity of the superstitious practices of the Arabs can also be applied with equal force to expose the folly of the superstitious practices of the other nations of the world, which have imposed unreasonable restrictions on food and adopted inhuman indiscriminations against other human beings.
