Ali 'Imran 93: Before the Torah was sent down, every food was lawful for the sons of Israel except for what Israel (Jacob) had made unlawful for himself. Say “if you are truthful, bring the Torah and read from it.”

A. Metin Saruhan · 10 December 2017 · Ali 'Imran

Translation

Before the Torah was sent down, every food was lawful for the sons of Israel except for what Israel (Jacob) had made unlawful for himself. Say “if you are truthful, bring the Torah and read from it.”

Tafsir

A group of Jews came to the Prophet (SAW). They said, "How is it possible that you say that you are from the nation of Prophet Abraham and at the same time you talk about the things that are forbidden in his religion being lawful? That is why this verse was revealed.

Hadrat Ya'qub 'alaihis-salâm suffered from a severe illness. He prayed to Allah (swt). He said, "If I am cured, I have made my favorite camel meat and camel's milk forbidden to my soul and I will not eat them. Then he was cured and he did not drink camel meat and camel milk. Foods have been made lawful since Adam, and Jacob made camel meat and camel's milk forbidden for himself because of his vow, which he had made forbidden for himself. Before the coming of the Torah, all food was lawful for the Israelites. Some foods were forbidden to the Israelites as a punishment. Otherwise, these foods were lawful for the people of Israel since Adam and Abraham.

So say, 'Bring the Torah and read it, if you are true to your word. The forbidden things that the Jews themselves invented are not written in the Torah, but they said so because of their rebellion against Allah.

What is said in the video

Surah Al Imran, verse 93. Before the Torah was sent down, every kind of food was lawful to the Children of Israel, except what Israel, Jacob, made unlawful for himself. Say: if you are truthful, then bring the Torah and read it, He says. Yes.

A group of Jews come to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They say: you say that you are of the nation of Abraham, and yet you speak of things that were unlawful in his religion as lawful. How can this be? they said. Upon this, this verse is revealed. What were they saying? You follow the religion of Abraham, and yet you call lawful what he made unlawful. How can this be? This comes from their denying the Torah. At that moment the verse is revealed: if you are truthful, I will bring your Torah. Because I love this most in myself, I have made it unlawful for myself, for Allah, I say. I will not eat this, I say.

It is not unlawful, is it? Allah does not make it unlawful. I no longer eat that thing I love, for Allah. So as not to raise that love above the love of Allah. Yes, that is what Jacob says too. What does he say? If I am healed, let it be my vow: I have made camel meat and camel milk, which I love most, unlawful for myself; I will not eat them, he says. Upon this he is healed, and he does not have camel meat and camel milk. Since Adam, foods were made lawful. Jacob, however, made camel meat and camel milk unlawful for himself, specifically for him, because of his own vow, he made them unlawful for himself. It does not mean they were made unlawful for all the Jews or for people.

If I vow, if I pledge not to eat something for Allah, sir, for Allah, but not to eat it so that its love does not surpass His, that does not concern you. It does not concern people. It is between Allah and that person. Yes.

Before the Torah came, all foods were lawful to the Children of Israel. And some foods were made unlawful for the Children of Israel as a punishment. Otherwise, since Adam and Abraham, these foods have been, for the people of the Children of Israel, lawful. Say: if you are truthful people, bring the Torah and read it. The prohibitions the Jews invented themselves are not written in the Torah either; they say this purely because of their rebellion against Allah. See, how do they want to embarrass the Prophet (peace be upon him)? How did they want to embarrass him? Camel meat and camel milk were unlawful, weren't they?

You make this lawful. How did this happen, they say. They want to belittle him. In the same way they want to belittle our sites too. Belittle. But pity those people. Look, they are all people of kufr. If people set out in this way to belittle those who explain the religion of Islam, who explain the verses, then their intentions are plain for all to see.