59 Preface قُل أَرَأَيتُم ما أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُم مِن رِزقٍ فَجَعَلتُم مِنهُ حَرامًا وَحَلالًا قُل آللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُم ۖ أَم عَلَى اللَّهِ تَفتَرونَYusuf AliSay: “See ye what things1 God hath sent down to you for sustenance? Yet ye hold forbidden some things thereof and (some things) lawful.” Say: “Hath God indeed permitted you, or do ye invent (things) to attribute to God.”“Sustenance” is to be taken in both the literal and the metaphorical sense. In the literal sense, what fine and varied things God has provided for us on land and in sea and air, in the vegetable, animal, and mineral kingdoms? Yet narrow minds put artificial barriers against their use. In the metaphorical sense, what enchanting fields of knowledge and spiritual endeavour are provided in our individual and social lives? And who is to say that some are lawful and others forbidden? Supposing they were so in special circumstances, it is not right to attribute artificial restrictions of that kind to God and falsely erect religious sanctions against them.