Question
I have been discussing this issue of eating meat of animals on which God’s name has not been pronounced at the time of slaughter.
One of the questions put to me was that grammatically this Ayah i.e 6: 121 is not an “Amar” i.e. order.
Since I do not know Arabic, can you please put some light on this aspect? I would need a detailed and satisfying answer.
The reason for this is that Almost 90% of the people which I have met here in the U.S are eating such meat because of the fatwa of Sheikh Yousuf Al Qardawi. While most people are satisfied with what “they just hear” some are really interested to know the right thing and this may help them.
Answer
The argument given by your friend is quite astonishing.
It is absolutely correct that, from a purely technical aspect, the referred verse is not an ‘Amr’. On the contrary, it is a ‘Nahee’. For the purpose of understanding the concept of ‘Nahee’, it may roughly be stated as negative amr – implying to give an order of restraint.
To get a better idea of the concept of ‘Amr’ and ‘Nahee’, it may be added that, from a technical perspective, the linguistics differentiate between a statement which positively orders something for the addressees and one which negatively orders a restraint upon the addressees. The former is known as ‘Amr’, which the latter is termed as ‘Nahee’. From the perspective of meaning and implication as well as from the perspective of making it binding upon the addressees, there is absolutely no difference in these two kinds of statements. To understand this point more thoroughly, consider the following two statements:
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Eat only of that upon which God’s name has been mentioned;
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Do not eat of that upon which God’s name has not been mentioned.
The first statement is an example of positive prescription (amr), while the second statement is an example of ordering restraint (nahee). I am sure that anyone can appreciate that the implication of both the statements is almost, if not exactly, the same.
The translation of the verse follows:
And do not eat of that upon which God’s name is not mentioned, for indeed such an act constitutes disobedience. (Al-An`aam 6: 121)
Any one can see, without involving oneself with the technical jargon, the verse is clearly ordering Muslims to refrain from eating the meat of animals upon which God’s name has not been mentioned.
What else, after all, is the implication of the verse, if not ordering restraint from eating meat upon which God’s name is not mentioned.
I hope this helps.
Moiz Amjad
February 11, 2003