وَمَا لَكُمْ أَلَّا تَأْكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا ذُكِرَ ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُم مَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِلَّا مَا ٱضْطُرِرْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا لَّيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَآئِهِم بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ
"Why should you not eat of that over which the name of God has been pronounced, when He has set out in detail what He has forbidden you — except what you are compelled to? Many lead others astray by their own desires, without knowledge."
The direction of the verse must be recorded, and I give this as my own reading: the sentence does not lay down a prohibition — it questions the laying down of a prohibition. Wa mā lakum allā taʾkulū — "why should you not eat?"
| Qualification | What it says |
|---|---|
| Wa qad faṣṣala lakum mā ḥarrama ʿalaykum | The list has already been given |
| Illā māʾḍṭurirtum ilayh | The exception of necessity |
بِأَهْوَآئِهِم بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ — the instrument of leading astray: hawā and the absence of knowledge. For hawā I rely on al-Jāthiya 45/23 and al-Furqān 25/43.
And this verse opens the door of the last block of the sūra: in verses 136-150 the prohibitions people laid down themselves will be taken up.