eat of what is in the earth lawful and good...

eat of what is in the earth lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Surely he is a manifest foe for you." " Verily, he (Satan) enjoins you evil acts and indecency and that you should speak against Allah what you know not." Commentary: One of the signs of a complete religion is that it considers the usage of the unlawful food-stuffs a Satanic deed (as the Qur'an says: "...intoxicants and games of chance...

are an abomination of Satan's work...") (1) , and the inappropriate avoidance of eating the lawful ones originated from the temptations of Satan, (as the Qur'an says: "...eat of what Allah has given you and do not follow the footsteps of Satan...") . (2) Therefore, in the current verse, too, it says: " O' mankind! eat of what is in the earth lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. ..." (1) Sura Al-Ma'idah, No. 5, verse 90 (2) Sura Al-'An'am, No. 6.

verse 142 49 In some of the historical narrations it is cited that a few of the Arab tribes had unreasonably forbidden a part of their crops and their animals for themselves, where they used to sometimes attribute those prohibitions to Allah. Then, the above verse was revealed to dismiss that ambiguity. Islam pays also specific attention to the material life of people.

At the top of these things is the food necessities about which there are found tens of Qur'anic verses and hundreds of traditions in Islamic literature. One of the duties of prophets has been to define the lawful and unlawful edible materials and drinks beside the introduction of the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. This verse emphasizes that we have to consume from what is religiously lawful and pure /h¤alal/ on the earth: " O' mankind!

eat of what is in the earth lawful and good;..." And that we must not prohibit ourselves from some things under the effect of the Satan's temptation, because it is certain that Satan is our open enemy: "...and do not follow the footsteps of Satan.