بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم
والعاقبة للمتّقين
Fat Forbidden for Jews
Allah Most High says:
وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ هَادُوا حَرَّمْنَا كُلَّ ذِي
ظُفُرٍ ۖ وَمِنَ الْبَقَرِ وَالْغَنَمِ حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ شُحُومَهُمَا إِلَّا
مَا حَمَلَتْ ظُهُورُهُمَا أَوِ الْحَوَايَا أَوْ مَا اخْتَلَطَ بِعَظْمٍ ۚ
ذَٰلِكَ جَزَيْنَاهُم بِبَغْيِهِمْ ۖ وَإِنَّا لَصَادِقُونَ۞
And to those who are Jews We forbade every (animal) with
claws, and of the cows and the Ghanam (sheep and goats) We forbade to them
their fat except what their backs carry or the intestines or what is joined
with the bone. That is their recompense for their rebellion. And indeed We are
truthful.
(Sura 6:146)
Some exegetes interpret the term Dhee Zufur as
referring to anything that doesn’t have cloven hooves, such as the camel. This
corresponds to what is written in the Torah (Leviticus 11:4, 26). But the Holy
Quran asserts that the Jews were also forbidden from eating the fat of cows
(cattle) and Ghanam, referring to sheep and goats. Furthermore, this Verse states
that the reason the Jews are forbidden from eating the fat of cattle, sheep and
goats is as a penalty for their rebelliousness.
Firstly, the Quran is alluding to what is written in the
Torah: “Say to the Israelites: Do not eat any of the fat of cattle, sheep or
goats.” (Leviticus 7:23) “This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to
come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood” (Leviticus
3:17) “All the fat is the Lord’s” (Leviticus 3:16) According to the Torah, the
fat of sacrificial animals (animals which may be sacrificed) is forbidden but
the fat of non-sacrificial animals, such as deer, is not forbidden in Halacha
(Jewish law). Hence the fat of all cattle, sheep and goats is forbidden for the
Jews, even after the end of the sacrificial system, as a permanent commandment.
The Holy Quran reinforces this prohibition upon the Jews, but explains the
reason as being due to their rebelliousness. Unlike the other dietary
prohibitions in the Torah, the prohibition of the fat of the sacrificial
animals is not because of it being unclean. In fact, it is the choicest part of
the animal, which is why it is burnt on the altar as an “aroma pleasing to the
Lord” (Leviticus 3:5). This is an answer to a Jewish objection that why has the
Holy Quran declared the prohibition of fat from cattle, sheep and goats upon
the Jews as a recompense for their rebelliousness. They should answer why else
have they been prohibited from eating the fat of those animals when they are
not used as an offering or sacrifice. The Torah says it is a “lasting ordinance”
that applies to them “wherever they live” (Leviticus 3:17) and not only
restricted to sacrifices at the Temple. The
Verse of the Holy Quran also states that the fat carried on the ‘back’, ‘small
intestines’ and joined to the bones is permitted. Though this may not be explicitly
stated in the written Torah (it is implied in Leviticus 3:3-4), it was
explained in the Oral Torah. For example, in the Mishneh Torah compiled
by Maimonides in the 12th century CE:
שלשה חלבים הן שחייבין עליהן כרת:
חלב שעל הקרב ושעל שתי הכליות ושעל
הכסלים אבל האליה מותרת באכילה לא נקראת חלב אלא לענין קרבן בלבד כמו
There are three types of forbidden fat for which one is
liable for kerat: the fat on the digestive organs, on both kidneys, and on the
flanks. The fat-tail, by contrast, is permitted to be eaten. It is called fat only
with regard to the sacrifices (Ma’achalot Assurot 7:5)
חלב שהבשר חופה אותו מותר שעל
הכסלים אסר הכתוב לא שבתוך הכסלים וכן חלב שעל הכליות נאסר ולא שבתוך הכליות
“Fat which is covered by meat is permitted. Scripture
forbids ‘fat on the flanks,’ but not within the flanks. Similarly, ‘fat on the
kidneys’ is forbidden, but not fat within the kidneys.” (Ma’achalot Assurot
7:7)
חלב הלב וחלב המעים הן הדקין המלופפין כולן מותרין והרי הם כשומן שהוא מותר חוץ
“The fat of the heart and the fat of all of the small
intestines are permitted. They are considered like shuman which is permitted
fat” (Ma’achalot Assurot 7:9)
Hence this distinction between Chelev and Shuman is what
is being referred to in Surah 6:146. Some Jews, who do not accept the ‘Oral
Torah’, such as the Karaites, forbid alyah (the ‘fat-tail’) while
Rabbinic Jews who follow the ‘Oral Torah’ consider it permitted. The Holy Quran
has endorsed the position of the Rabbinic Jews in this issue by stating that
the fat on the “backs” and mixed with the “bone” referring to the tailbone, is
permitted to them. In this way, the Holy Quran has endorsed the idea of an ‘Oral
Torah’ that was revealed to Prophet Moses at Mount Sinai along with a ‘Written
Torah’. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, being the similitude of Moses, stated:
أَلاَ إِنِّي أُوتِيتُ الْكِتَابَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ
“I have been given the Book (Quran) and its Similitude with it”
(Sunan Abi Dawud #4604)
Hence the inspired sayings and deeds from the Sunna of
the Prophet ﷺ are the Mithl-al-Quran, granted to him along
with the text of the Quran. It is only astray sects of Judaism like the
Sadducees and now Karaites who rejected the ‘Oral Torah’ that was revealed to
Prophet Moses at Mount Sinai, and likewise, from among this Umma, the misguided
sects of Hadith-rejecters and so-called “Quraniyun” who reject the Mithl-al-Quran
(Sunna). Jabir b. Abdullah (RA) narrates that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about the utilization of the fat of Mayta (dead animals, carrion), such as for greasing boats or as oil to burn for lights, he prohibited that, and furthermore stated: May Allah curse the Jews, for Allah made the fat (of sacrificial animals) illegal for them, yet they melted the fat, sold it, and ate its price. (Bukhari). Likewise, Ibn Abbas (RA) narrates that once Umar b. al-Khattab (RA) was informed of a man named Samura who sold wine, so Umar cursed him and narrated the same Hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Incidentally, the Hadith is a proof for the impurity of the fat of Mayta from animals which are otherwise Halal to eat if slaughtered properly. Their skins are also impure, but become pure through the process of tanning.
.jpg)
The Torah prohibits consuming choice parts of meat, known as “chalavim”. Whenever a Temple sacrifice was performed, some parts of the sacrifice were eaten by the priests or the people bringing the sacrifice, while other parts were turned into smoke on the altar. The precise parts that were eaten varied according to the type of sacrifice. Regardless of the type of sacrifice, however, the blood and the chalavim (choice parts of the sacrifice) were never eaten. Instead, the chalavim were reserved for God: “all chelev is Hashem’s” (Leviticus 3:16). Thus, the chalavim would be turned to smoke on the altar whenever meat was offered as a sacrifice (eg: Leviticus 3:14-15). When meat is slaughtered outside the Temple, however, the chalavim need not be turned to smoke but are still prohibited for consumption: “In all your settlements you shall eat neither blood nor chelev” (Leviticus 3:16). .
ReplyDeleteThe word chelev (plural: chalavim) is both a standard term and a torah term. As a standard term, chelev can mean either “fat” or anything which is highly regarded, as in the verse “you shall eat from the best (chelev) of the land” (Genesis 45:18). As a Torah term, chelev refers to the “choice parts” of a slaughtered animal that were never consumed. Scripture precisely defines 6 parts of slaughtered animals as chelev. Five of these are mentioned in the context of the prohibition on fat: “and he shall present [from the goat] an offering made by fire to Hashem. (1) The fat that covers the entrails, (2) the fat that is on the entrails, (3) the two kidneys, (4) the fat that is on them near the loins, and (5) the protuberance of the liver…the priest shall make these into smoke on the altar, food of the offering made by fire as a pleasing odor; all chelev is for hashem” (Leviticus 3:14-16). Recall that chelev, as a standard term, can simply mean “fat”. One might therefore argue that when the Torah states that “all chelev is for Hashem” it does not intend to include the entire list of body parts given above, only those organs that are directly referred to as “fat” (eg: “the fat (chelev) that is on the entrails”). This reading is mistaken, however. Elsewhere Scripture thrice refers to the kidneys and the protruberance of the liver as “chalavim”: “the chalavim from the ox and from the ram: the aliyah, the fat covering the entrails, the kidneys, and the protuberance of the liver; they put the chalavim upon the breasts and made the chalavim smoke on the altar ” (Leviticus 9:19). (http://www.karaites.org/uploads/7/4/1/3/7413835/mikdash_meat_section_15_(shechita).pdf)