16:66 An-Nahl (The Bee)

أي: { وَإِنَّ لَكُمْ فِي الْأَنْعَامِ } التي سخرها الله لمنافعكم { لَعِبْرَةً } تستدلون بها على كمال قدرة الله وسعة إحسانه حيث أسقاكم من بطونها المشتملة على الفرث والدم، فأخرج من بين ذلك لبنا خالصا من الكدر سائغا للشاربين للذته ولأنه يسقي ويغذي، فهل هذه إلا قدرة إلهية لا أمور طبيعية. فأي شيء في الطبيعة يقلب العلف الذي تأكله البهيمة والشراب الذي تشربه من الماء العذب والملح لبنا خالصا سائغا للشاربين؟

يقول تعالى "وإن لكم" أيها الناس "في الأنعام" وهى الإبل والبقر والغنم "لعبرة" أي لآية ودلالة حكمة خالقها وقدرته ورحمته ولطفه "نسقيكم مما في بطونه" أفرده ههنا عودا على معنى النعم أو الضمير عائد على الحيوان فإن الأنعام حيوانات أي نسقيكم مما في بطن هذا الحيوان وفي الآية الأخرى مما في بطونها ويجوز هذا وهذا كما في قوله تعالى "كلا إنها تذكرة فمن شاء ذكره" وفي قوله تعالى "وإني مرسلة إليهم بهدية فناظرة بم يرجع المرسلون فلما جاء سليمان" أي المال وقوله "من بين فرث ودم لبنا خالصا" أي يتخلص الدم بياضه وطعمه وحلاوته من بين فرث ودم في باطن الحيوان فيسري كل إلى موطنه إذا نضج الغذاء في معدته فيصرف منه دم إلى العروق ولبن إلى الضَّرع وبول إلى المثانة وروث إلى المخرج وكل منها لا يشوب الآخر ولا يمازجه بعد انفصاله عنه ولا يتغير به وقوله "لبنا خالصا سائغا للشاربين" أي لا يغص به أحد.

Lessons and Blessings in Cattle and the Fruit of the Date-palm and Grapevine

وَإِنَّ لَكُمْ

(there is for you) - O mankind -

فِى الاٌّنْعَـمِ

(in the cattle) - meaning camels, cows and sheep,

لَعِبْرَةً

(a lesson) meaning a sign and an evidence of the wisdom, power, mercy and kindness of the Creator.

نُّسْقِيكُمْ مِّمَّا فِى بُطُونِهِ

(We have made a drink for you out of what is in its belly) meaning its singular forms refers to one cattle, or it could refer to the whole species. For cattle are the creatures which provide a drink from what is in their bellies and in another Ayah it is `in their bellies.' Either way is plausible. He said,

مِن بَيْنِ فَرْثٍ وَدَمٍ لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا

(from between excretions and blood, pure milk;) meaning it is free of blood, and is pure in its whiteness, taste and sweetness. It is between excrement and blood in the belly of the animal, but each of them goes its own way after the food has been fully digested in its stomach. The blood goes to the veins, the milk goes to the udder, the urine goes to the bladder and the feces goes to the anus. None of them gets mixed with another after separating, and none of them is affected by the other.

لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا سَآئِغًا لِلشَّارِبِينَ

(pure milk; palatable to the drinkers.) meaning nothing to cause one to choke on it. When Allah mentions milk and how He has made it a palatable drink for mankind, He follows this with a reference to the drinks that people make from the fruits of the date palm and grapevine, and what they used to do with intoxicating Nabidh (drink made from dates) before it was forbidden. Thus He reminds them of His blessings, and says:

وَمِن ثَمَرَتِ النَّخِيلِ وَالاٌّعْنَـبِ تَتَّخِذُونَ مِنْهُ سَكَرًا

(And from the fruits of date palms and grapes, you derive strong drink) This indicates that it was permissible to drink it before it was forbidden. It also indicates that strong drink (i.e., intoxicating drink) derived from dates is the same as strong drink derived from grapes. Also forbidden are strong drinks derived from wheat, barley, corn and honey, as is explained in detail in the Sunnah.

سَكَرًا وَرِزْقًا حَسَنًا

(strong drink and a goodly provision.) Ibn `Abbas said: "Strong drink is the product of these two fruits that is forbidden, and the good provision is what is permitted of them." According to another report: "Strong drink is its unlawful, and the goodly provision is its lawful," referring to the fruits when they are dried, like dates and raisins, or products derived from them such as molasses, vinegar and wine (of grapes, dates) which are permissible to drink before they become strong (becomes alcoholic), as was stated in the Sunnah.

إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لآيَةً لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

(There is indeed a sign in this for those of reason.) It is appropriate to mention reason here, because it is the noblest feature of man. Hence Allah forbade this Ummah from drinking intoxicants, in order to protect their ability to reason. Allah says:

وَجَعَلْنَا فِيهَا جَنَّـتٍ مِّن نَّخِيلٍ وَأَعْنَـبٍ وَفَجَّرْنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الْعُيُونِ - لِيَأْكُلُواْ مِن ثَمَرِهِ وَمَا عَمِلَتْهُ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَفَلاَ يَشْكُرُونَ - سُبْحَـنَ الَّذِى خَلَق الاٌّزْوَجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الاٌّرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(And We placed gardens of date palms and grapes in it, and We caused springs of water to gush forth in it. So that they may eat of its fruit - while their hands did not make it. Will they not then give thanks Glory be to Him Who created all the pairs of that which the earth produces, as well as their own (human) kind (male and female), and of that which they know not.) (36:34-36)

وَأَوْحَى رَبُّكَ إِلَى النَّحْلِ أَنِ اتَّخِذِى مِنَ الْجِبَالِ بُيُوتًا وَمِنَ الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا يَعْرِشُونَ

And truly for you there is in the cattle a lesson an example to learn from. We give you to drink — this introduces the explanation of the ‘lesson’ — of that which is in their bellies the cattle’s bellies from min indicates a new subject and is semantically connected to nusqīkum ‘We give you to drink’ between the refuse the intestinal waste and the blood pure milk uncontaminated by either the refuse or the blood neither in its taste odour or colour even though it the milk is situated between the two palatable to drinkers easily passing down their throats not causing any choking.

Commentary

The pronoun in: بُطُونِہٖ (butunihi: their bellies) reverts back to: (al-an am: cattle). Since the word al-an’ am is plural in the feminine gender, it required that the word used for it should have been: بُطُونِھَا (butuniha), as it appears in Surah Al-Mu'minun: نُّسْقِيكُم مِّمَّا فِي بُطُونِهَا (We provide you, out of what there is in their bellies - 23:21).

Al-Qurtubi explains this by saying that consideration has been made of the meaning of the plural in Surah Al-Mu'minun where the pronoun has been used in the feminine gender. And, in Surah Al-Nahl, the pronoun has been used in the masculine gender in consideration of the plural word as such. Examples of this usage abound in Arabic where a singular pronoun is made to revert to a plural word.

As for bringing out pure milk from between feces and blood, Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbss ؓ said: When the fodder eaten by an animal settles in its stomach, the stomach heats it up as a result of which the waste by-product from the fodder settles down leaving milk above with blood being on top of it. Then, nature has entrusted the next job with the liver. It separates the three and directs them to where they be-long. Blood goes to veins. Milk goes to the udder of the animal. Now, left in the stomach is waste which is excreted as feces or dung.

Rulings

1. From this verse we learn that eating good food is not against Zuhd (the way of life marked by not inclining towards worldly enjoyments for the sake of maintaining an ideal state of spiritual purity) specially when it has been acquired with Halal (lawful) means and provided that no extravagance has been made in it. This is as stated by Hadrat Hasan al-Basri (رح) . (Al-Qurtubi)

2. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: When you eat something, say: اللھم بارک لٰنا فیہ وَ اَطعِمنَا خَیراً مِّنہُ Y Allah, bless it for us and have us eat better than it.

And he said: When you drink milk, say اللھم بارک لٰنا فیہ وَ زِدنَا مِنہُ Allah, bless it for us and give us more of it.

In the second prayer, he did not ask for something 'better than it' (as in the first prayer) for, in human cuisine, there is no nutrient better than milk. Therefore, nature has made milk the very first food given to every man and animal through breast-feeding by mothers. (Al-Qurtubi)

And surely in the cattle there is a lesson for you: We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, between feces and blood, pure milk, delicious for the drinkers. Two impurities came together, one feces and the other blood. God with His power made pure milk appear between the two. In the same way, two drops came together in the womb. God's determi- nation and form-giving made a form of such beauty appear from the two! He formed you, so He made your forms beautiful [40:64]. He brings together two difficult tasks for the servant, one the burden of disobedience, the other shortcoming in obedience. Then God's bounty makes mercy and forgiveness appear between the two: He will make your deeds wholesome for you and forgive you your sins [33:71]. In what preceded all precedents and began all beginnings, the Pen wrote in the Tablet that the candle of the Shariah and the lamp of faith and certainty would light up in someone's breast. It does not matter if he falls asleep. When he wakes up he will see the lit candle next to his pillow. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, do You know what has made me happy? I did not fall to You by myself. You wanted-it was not I who wanted. I saw the Friend at my pillow when I woke up from sleep.” By way of allusion God is saying, “I took milk, which is your nourishment and your share, and passed it over feces and blood, preserving it from both. As for tawḤīd, it is My rightful due, so it is much more deserving of being preserved by Me. It will pass over this world and the afterworld and not receive any trace. Were the trace of this world or the afterworld to sit on tawḤīd, it would not be worthy of Me. TawḤīd is pure of this world and the afterworld. The light of tawḤīd is the destruction of water and dust. Turning the eye of the heart away from self is to perceive the finding of tawḤīd.”