The Quran

Preface

حُرِّمَت عَلَيكُمُ المَيتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحمُ الخِنزيرِ وَما أُهِلَّ لِغَيرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالمُنخَنِقَةُ وَالمَوقوذَةُ وَالمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطيحَةُ وَما أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلّا ما ذَكَّيتُم وَما ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَن تَستَقسِموا بِالأَزلامِ ۚ ذٰلِكُم فِسقٌ ۗ اليَومَ يَئِسَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا مِن دينِكُم فَلا تَخشَوهُم وَاخشَونِ ۚ اليَومَ أَكمَلتُ لَكُم دينَكُم وَأَتمَمتُ عَلَيكُم نِعمَتي وَرَضيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسلامَ دينًا ۚ فَمَنِ اضطُرَّ في مَخمَصَةٍ غَيرَ مُتَجانِفٍ لِإِثمٍ ۙ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ

Yusuf Ali

Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked The name of other than God;¹ that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form);² that which is sacrificed³ on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division⁴ (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion:⁵ yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion⁶ for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, God is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.

Cf. 2:173 and n. 173 and 174. The prohibition of dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which other names than that of God have been invoked, has been there explained.
If an animal dies by strangling, or by a violent blow, or a headlong fall, or by being gored to death, or by being attacked by a wild animal, the presumption is that it becomes carrion, as the life-blood is congealed before being taken out of the body. But the presumption can be rebutted. If the life-blood still flows and the solemn mode of slaughter (dhabh) in the name of God as a sacrifice is carried out, it becomes lawful as food.
This was also an idolatrous rite, different from that in which a sacrifice was devoted to a particular idol or a false god.
Gambling of all kinds is forbidden: 2:219. A sort of lottery or raffle practised by Pagan Arabs has been described in n. 241. Division of meat in this way is here forbidden, as it is a form of gambling.
So long as Islam was not organised, with its own community and its own laws, the Unbelievers had hoped to wean the Believers from the new Teaching. (Now that hope was gone, with the complete organisation of Islam).
It is considered by many as the last verse revealed chronologically, marking the approaching end of al Muṣṭafā’s ministry in his earthly life.