سورة آل عمران

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Umar ibn Yazid said: "I wrote [a letter] to Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) and asked him about a man who had arranged with his slave that he would be freed after his [the master's] death — can this man sell his slave?" The Imam (peace be upon him) wrote in reply: كُلُّ الطَّعامِ كانَ حِلًّا لِبَنِی إِسْرائِیلَ إِلَّا ما حَرَّمَ إِسْرائِیلُ عَلی نَفْسِهِ [All food was lawful to the children of Israel except that which Israel had forbidden to himself].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Abi Ya'fur said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: "Allah does not make anything lawful in His Book and then make it unlawful after having made it lawful, nor does He make anything unlawful and then make it lawful after having made it unlawful." I said: "That is so. [What about His words] 'And of the oxen and the sheep We forbade unto them the fat of both' (An'am/146)?" He said: "Yes, it is so." I said: "Then what about this verse: إِلَّا ما حَرَّمَ إِسْرائِیلُ عَلی نَفْسِهِ [except that which Israel had forbidden to himself]?" He said: "Whenever Israel ate the flesh of a camel, he was afflicted with pain in his side, so he forbade the flesh of the camel to himself. This was before the Torah was revealed. When the Torah was revealed, He did not forbid it, and he [Israel] did not eat it."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): Yaqub (peace be upon him) suffered from the illness of sciatica (irq al-nasa), so he forbade the flesh of the camel to himself. The Jews said: "The flesh of the camel is unlawful in the Torah." Allah says: فَأْتُوا بِالتَّوْراةِ فَاتْلُوها إِنْ کُنْتُمْ صادِقِینَ [Bring the Torah and recite it, if you are truthful]. The camel was forbidden by Israel — that is, Yaqub (peace be upon him) — upon himself, but it was not forbidden for people.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Yaqub (peace be upon him) was afflicted with the illness of the vein called irq al-nasa (sciatica), and he vowed that if Allah cured him, he would forbid to himself the veins and the flesh of the camel, which was the most beloved of foods to him.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Among what has come in the Quran in the wording of a statement but whose meaning is a report of the speech of others, is the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: ... کُلُّ الطَّعامِ کانَ حِلًّا لِبَنِی إِسْرائِیلَ إِلَّا ما حَرَّمَ إِسْرائِیلُ عَلی نَفْسِهِ [All food was lawful to the children of Israel except that which Israel had forbidden to himself]; for this appears in the wording of a statement, whereas it is a report (of the words) of a group of the Jews who made such a claim, and Allah the Exalted refuted their words with this verse: قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِالتَّوْراةِ فَاتْلُوها إِنْ کُنْتُمْ صادِقِینَ [Say: Bring then the Taurat and read it, if you are truthful]; that is, look into the Taurat; do you find in it confirmation of what you claim?

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The reason for the revelation of this verse was that the Jews rejected the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) declaring the flesh of camels lawful and did not accept his word; so Allah declared: "It was lawful for Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son," until Israel — who is Yaqub (peace be upon him) — forbade it upon himself. He vowed that if he were cured of sciatica, he would forbid upon himself the most beloved food and drink to him, which was camel flesh and its milk, and when he was cured he fulfilled his vow. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) argued with them by means of the Taurat, but since they knew that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) was truthful, they did not dare to bring the Taurat.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Jews were displeased that the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had declared camel flesh lawful. The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) replied to them: "All of these meats were lawful for Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him), but they claimed that whatever we deem forbidden was forbidden in the time of Nuh and Ibrahim (peace be upon them both) and so on until it reached us." This verse was revealed in reply to them.