The Cow

Surah: 2

Ayat: 173

Verse:

He hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swineflesh, and that which hath been immolated to (the name of) any other than Allah. But he who is driven by necessity, neither craving nor transgressing, it is no sin for him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Tafseer:

He has only forbidden you carrion that is the consumption of it since this is the subject of the general address here and similarly the consumption of what follows all of which is what has not been slaughtered in accordance with prescriptions of the Law; to this the Sunna adds as also constituting carrion what has been severed from a living creature. A special status is however accorded fish and locusts; blood poured forth as in sūrat al-An‘ām see Q. 6145 the flesh of swine the meat is singled out for mention because that part is what people mostly seek every other part being implied thereby; what has been hallowed to other than God that is to say what has been slaughtered in other than His Name al-ihlāl is the raising of one’s voice which they used to do when sacrificing for their gods. Yet whoever is constrained forced by dire need to eat of the above-mentioned not desiring to rebel against Muslims nor transgressing committing aggression against them by waylaying them no sin shall be on him for eating it. God is Forgiving to His friends Merciful to those who are obedient to Him for He has granted them wide berth in this matter. The aggressor and the transgressor are excluded from this dispensation and to these two categories one should also add every person that sets out on a journey in disobedience such as the fugitive or the excise collector for whom it would be unlawful to eat any of the mentioned unless they repent of their disobedience; this is the opinion of al-Shāfi‘ī.