سورة البقرة

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The verses of the Quran whose ta'wil (interpretation) and tanzil (revelation) are one and the same are those muhkam (clear) verses which were revealed concerning the prohibition of something well known in the time of the Arabs [which everyone recognised]. Their ta'wil and tanzil are one, and they need no tafsir or explanation beyond their ta'wil; such as the words of Allah the Exalted: ... إِنَّما حَرَّمَ عَلَیْکُمُ الْمَیْتَةَ وَ الدَّمَ وَ لَحْمَ الْخِنْزِیرِ [He has only forbidden you what dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine].

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Udhafir reported from his father from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): I said to the Imam (peace be upon him), "Why has Allah the Mighty and Majestic forbidden wine, carrion, blood and the flesh of swine?" He said, "Allah the Blessed and Exalted did not make these things forbidden upon His servants and permit what is other than them in order to make them eager for what He has permitted and averse to what He has forbidden. Rather, after creating His creatures He knew what would sustain their bodies and what was in their interest and welfare, so He made those things permissible and lawful for them; and He also knew what would harm their bodies, so He forbade them and prohibited His servants from [using] those things. Then for the person in a state of necessity, whose body cannot survive except by eating these forbidden things, He made them permissible in the measure that meets his need and resolves his difficulty — not more than that amount [and permitted him to use them]."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): It is forbidden that you eat [them].

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Carrion (maytah) is that which has died on its own, without lawful slaughter, in the manner Allah has permitted.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Carrion was forbidden because of the harms and things in it that cause corruption of the body.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): No one gains anything (any benefit) from eating carrion except that his body becomes weaker, his strength diminishes, and his progeny is cut off. And whoever eats carrion dies a sudden death.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Ten things from a dead animal are pure: the bone, hair, wool, feather, horn, hoof, egg, rennet, milk and tooth.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Allah forbade blood just as He forbade carrion, because in it lie the causes of the corruption of bodies; it produces yellow bile (jaundice), makes the mouth and the body's odour foul, and spoils the character. It also brings hardness of heart and lessens compassion and mercy, to the point that the children, parents and spouse [of the one who eats carrion] are not safe from the danger of being killed by him. And He forbade swine because it is a "mushawwah" animal (that is, ugly in form and ugly in nature; and since sinful people have at times been metamorphosed into its form, it has been called "mushawwah"), and He made it a lesson for the servants and a means of admonition and fear. [Likewise Allah] made it a specimen and a sign of a creature whose creation and form has been transformed, and made it resemble a human being so that this resemblance would show that it is among the creatures upon whom the divine wrath has fallen.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): As for blood, for the one who consumes it, it brings yellow bile, rabies, hardness of heart and lessening of compassion and mercy, to the point that those around him, his companions and his close friends are not safe from his wickedness. And as for [the matter of] swine, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, transformed a people into various shapes such as swine, monkeys and bears; then He forbade the eating of such animals so that no benefit be taken from them, and so that [by the eating of these animals becoming common] the greatness of Allah's punishment [which led to that people being transformed into the shape of these animals] would not be diminished.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Those slaughtered animals over which a name other than Allah's has been pronounced — such as the sacrifices that the disbelievers slaughter in the name of their idols — [are forbidden].

Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): Hazrat Abdul Azim Hasani (peace be upon him) said: I asked Imam Jawad (peace be upon him) about ما أُهِلَّ لِغَیْرِ اللهِ بِهِ [that over which any other name than Allah's has been invoked]. He said: "It means what is slaughtered for an idol or for a tree."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Whatever is slaughtered for other than Allah is forbidden; because it is obligatory upon Allah's creation to acknowledge Him and to pronounce His name over the lawful sacrificial animals. And [this ruling was set] so that there should be no equality between what is offered as nearness to Allah and what is made an act of worship for satans and idols. For in mentioning the name of Allah the Mighty and Majestic over the sacrifice there is an acknowledgement of His lordship and His oneness, and in sacrificing for other than Him for the sake of drawing near to other than Allah there is polytheism. And [this ruling was set] so that in mentioning Allah's name over the sacrifice there would be a distinction between what Allah has made lawful and what He has made unlawful.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Allah the Mighty and Majestic willed that pronouncing His name at the time of slaughter should be the means of distinguishing the lawful from the unlawful.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): A woman came to Umar and said: "I have committed an indecent act; carry out Allah's prescribed punishment on me." Umar ordered her to be stoned. Amir al-Muminin Ali (peace be upon him) was present and said: "Ask her how this act was committed by her." The woman said: "I was in the desert and thirst overwhelmed me severely. From afar I saw a tent. I went there. In that tent there was a bedouin man. I asked him for water. He refused to give me water unless I gave myself over to him in exchange for the water. I refused and fled. Thirst put me under such severe pressure that my eyes sank into their sockets and my tongue stopped functioning. When thirst brought me to this state, out of necessity I went to him and he gave me water and had his way with me." Amir al-Muminin (peace be upon him) said: "This woman falls under Allah's saying: فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَیْرَ باغٍ وَ لا عادٍ [Whoever is driven to necessity, not desiring, nor exceeding the limit] — this woman is neither a wrongdoer nor a transgressor. Leave her alone." Umar [when he saw this, released her and] said: "If Ali were not there, Umar would surely have perished."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Whoever, at the time of compulsion and necessity, is forced to commit one of these forbidden acts, but at the time of that necessity has not wronged his guiding leader [and imam] and has not transgressed — meaning that he has not spoken vain words, for example, has not said that so-and-so, who is not worthy of the rank of prophethood and imamate, is a prophet or an imam — such a person has committed no sin in consuming these forbidden things.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever, out of necessity and not out of rebellion and obstinacy, reaches out to these forbidden things and eats from them, while he believes in obedience to Allah once the taqiyya (dissimulation) situation is removed, bears no sin. Likewise, whoever is forced to speak ill of one of the believers in order to save his own life or that person's life from the disbelievers and our enemies; and also one who informs against his believing brother or against a group of Muslims in order to [protect] them from destruction and to defend himself, and mentions faults that cannot be denied; or one who [for the same purpose] insults one of the rulings of Allah; or one who, out of taqiyya and to preserve his own life, speaks in indirect terms about one of the great matters of religion; and also one who, out of fear for his life, calls them (the oppressive rulers) by noble names and titles; or one who accepts their rulings out of taqiyya — such a person has committed no sin, for Allah has granted this permission in taqiyya.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Muslim narrated: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "If a man or a woman loses his eyesight and the doctors say: 'You must lie on your back for a month or forty days and undergo treatment,' can he proceed with the treatment and pray in that same posture?" The Imam (peace be upon him) permitted it and said: "فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَیْرَ باغٍ وَ لا عادٍ فَلا إِثْمَ عَلَیْهِ [But whoever is driven to necessity, not desiring, nor exceeding the limit, no sin shall be upon him]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever is compelled to eat carrion, blood, or the flesh of swine [but does not do so] and does not eat until, from severe hunger, death overtakes him, has departed this world as a disbeliever.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): There is nothing that Allah has forbidden except that He has made it lawful for one who is compelled and has no alternative. (All the things that Allah has declared forbidden — at the time of necessity, the ruling of being lawful becomes applicable to them.)

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): A person under duress [who, out of severe thirst, is compelled to consume something forbidden] must not drink wine, for it brings him nothing but harm and evil, and if he drinks it, it will kill him. Therefore, a person under duress must not drink even a drop of it.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The "baghi" is the one who has risen in revolt against the Imam (peace be upon him), and the "'adi" is the highway robber; eating carrion [even in a state of necessity and to stave off hunger] is not lawful for these two groups.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The "baghi" is the one who has risen against the Imam (peace be upon him), and the "'adi" is the thief.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [The one under duress and compelled to consume the forbidden] must not have risen against the Imam of the Muslims, nor deviated from the path of the followers of truth.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The "baghi" (transgressor) is the one who goes out with the intention of disobeying Allah, and the "'adi" (aggressor) is the one who transgresses against the rights of people and commits highway robbery.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "البَاغِی" is the oppressor and "الْعَادِی" is the usurper.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): What is meant by "البَاغِی" is the hunter [who hunted for sport and then, out of necessity, needed the carcass of that hunted animal], and what is meant by "الْعَادِی" is the thief. [These two] are not permitted to eat carrion [even] in situations of necessity, and the ruling on their eating carrion is not like the ruling that carrion has for Muslims in situations of necessity.

Imam Jawad (peace be upon him): "الْعَادِی" is the thief, and "البَاغِی" is the one who seeks game for the purpose of pleasure and amusement, not to [provide] sustenance for his family. Even in a state of necessity, these two must not eat carrion; it is forbidden to them in the state of necessity just as it is forbidden to them in the state of choice.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Allah conceals your faults and is merciful to you, in that He has made permissible and lawful in times of necessity those things which are forbidden when there is no necessity.