Tafsir of Surah An-Nahl - Verse 67

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

Commentary

Described in the previous verses were blessings of Allah Ta’ ala which manifest the stunning marvel of Divine power and creativity. Of these, the first to be mentioned was milk which nature has gifted human beings with after having made it go through its own processing in the bellies of animals separating it from feces and blood and delivering it as a finished product, pure and pleasant, food and drink in one. No subsequent human effort or artifice is needed here. Therefore, the word used in the text is: n نُسقِیکُم (nusqikum: We provided you with milk to drink).' The stress is self-explanatory.

After that it was said that human beings do make things from some fruits of the date-palms and grape-vines as well, which serve them as food, and other benefits. The hint ingrained here is that there is some intervening role played by human ingenuity, innovation and artifice in making the fruits from date-palms and grape-vines yield what they eat or benefit from in other ways. As a result of the factor of intervention, two kinds of things were made. The first is what intoxicates, the common form of which is liquor. The second is: Rizq Hasan, that is, good provision, like dates and grapes which everyone is welcome to use as fresh food, or dry it and store it for later use. The purpose is that Allah Ta’ ala, in His perfect power, has given to human beings fruits like dates and grapes, and along with it, He also gave human beings the choice to make things they eat and drink out of them. Now the option is theirs. Let them make what they would: Make what intoxicates and knocks their reason out, or make food out of them and get strength and energy!

According to this tafsir, this verse cannot be used to prove the lawfulness of that which intoxicates, that is, liquor.` This is because the purpose here is to state the nature of Divine blessings and the different forms they could take when used. It goes without saying that these remain the Divine blessings they are under all conditions. Take the example of foods, drinks and many things of benefit. People use them.

Some also use them in ways which are not permissible. But, the incidence of someone using things wrongfully would not stop a blessing from remaining the blessing it is. Therefore, this is no place to go into details as to which of the uses is lawful and which is otherwise and unlawful. Nevertheless, not to be missed here is the delicate hint given by setting up "rizq Hasan" (good provision) in contrast with "sakar" (intoxicant) which tells us that "sakar" is not a good provision. According to the majority of commentators, "sakar" means what intoxicates. (Ruh al-Ma ani, Qurlubi, Jassas)

These verses are Makki by consensus. As for the unlawfulness of liquor, it came after that in Madinah. Though liquor was lawful at the time of the revelation of this verse and Muslims used to drink openly, yet, even at that time, a hint was given in this verse towards the fact that drinking of liquor was not good. After that, came the specific injunctions of the Qur’ an which made liquor Haram (unlawful) clearly, emphatically and categorically. (Condensed from Al-Jassas and Al-Qurtubi)

This gives a hint that the things created by God in this world can be used rightly as well as wrongly. Dates and grapes, if eaten in their natural forms, provide healthy and wholesome food, which give energy to the body and mind. But if through some human process, they are converted into intoxicants, they become harmful to the body and mind.