93۞ كُلُّ الطَّعامِ كانَ حِلًّا لِبَني إِسرائيلَ إِلّا ما حَرَّمَ إِسرائيلُ عَلىٰ نَفسِهِ مِن قَبلِ أَن تُنَزَّلَ التَّوراةُ ۗ قُل فَأتوا بِالتَّوراةِ فَاتلوها إِن كُنتُم صادِقينَMuhammad AsadALL FOOD was lawful unto the children of Israel, save what Israel had made unlawful unto itself [by its sinning] before the Torah was bestowed from on high.1 Say: "Come forward, then, with the Torah and recite it, if what you say is true!"Up to this point, most of this surah dealt with the divine origin of the Qur'an and was meant to establish the true nature of the mission entrusted to the Prophet - namely, his call to an acknowledgement of God's oneness and uniqueness. Now, verses 93-97 are devoted to a refutation of two objections on the part of the Jews to what they consider to be an infringement, by the Qur'an, of Biblical laws, in spite of the oft-repeated Qur'anic claim that this revelation confirms the truth inherent in the teachings of the earlier prophets. These two objections relate to (a) the Qur'anic annulment of certain dietary injunctions and prohibitions laid down in the Torah, and (b) the alleged "substitution" of Mecca for Jerusalem as the direction of prayer (qiblah)- see surah 2, note 116. In order to answer the objection relating to Jewish food laws, the Qur'an calls to mind that originally all wholesome foods were lawful to the children of Israel, and that the severe restrictions subsequently imposed upon them in the Torah were but a punishment for their sins (cf. 6:146), and were, therefore, never intended for a community that truly surrenders itself to God. For an answer to the second objection, see verse 96.