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سُورَةُ الأَنۡعَامِ · 6:121
MeccanRevelation order ٥٥Juzʾ ٨Page ١٤٣

وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَفِسْقٌۭ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينَ لَيُوحُونَ إِلَىٰٓ أَوْلِيَآئِهِمْ لِيُجَٰدِلُوكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَطَعْتُمُوهُمْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُشْرِكُونَ

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Saheeh International · EN

And do not eat of that upon which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, for indeed, it is grave disobedience. And indeed do the devils inspire their allies [among men] to dispute with you. And if you were to obey them, indeed, you would be associators [of others with Him].

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Introduction

This is āyah 121 of Sūrat Al-An'aam (The Cattle), the 55th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 8. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

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Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
55 of 114
Surah
Al-An'aam (6)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(And eat not of that whereon Allah's name hath not been mentioned�) [6:121]. The idolaters said: �O Muhammad, tell us: 'When a sheep dies, who has killed it?' He said: 'Allah killed it!' They said: 'How is it then that that which is killed by you and your Companions is lawful, that which is killed by a dog or bird of prey is lawful but that which is killed by Allah is unlawful?' And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�. Said 'Ikrimah: �When Allah, exalted is He, revealed the unlawfulness of the meat of carrion, the Magians among the people of Persia wrote to the idolaters of Quraysh, who were their allies in the pre-Islamic period and kept contact with each other, that Muhammad and his Companions claim that they follow the command of Allah but then say that what they slaughter is lawful and that which is slaughtered by Allah is unlawful. This caused doubt in the minds of some Muslims, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse�.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Eat not of that on which Allah's Name has not been pronounced, for surely it is disobedience. And certainly, the Shayatin do inspire their friends to dispute with you, and if you obey them, then you would indeed be polytheists (121) The Prohibition of what was Slaughtered in other than Allah's Name This Ayah is used to prove that slaughtered animals are not lawful when Allah's Name is not mentioned over them – even if slaughtered by a Muslim. The Ayah about hunting game, فَكُلُوا مِمَّا أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَاذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ (So eat of what they (trained hunting dogs or birds of prey) catch for you, but pronounce the Name of Allah over it.)[5:4] supports this. The Ayah here emphasized this ruling, when Allah said, وَإِنَّهُ لَفِسْقٌ (for surely it is disobedience.) They say that "it" refers to eating it, and others say that it refers to the sacrifice for other th…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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Provenance

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