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Sura 5
Aya 96
96
أُحِلَّ لَكُم صَيدُ البَحرِ وَطَعامُهُ مَتاعًا لَكُم وَلِلسَّيّارَةِ ۖ وَحُرِّمَ عَلَيكُم صَيدُ البَرِّ ما دُمتُم حُرُمًا ۗ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذي إِلَيهِ تُحشَرونَ

Muhammad Asad

Lawful to you is all water-game, and what the sea brings forth,1 as a provision for you [who are settled] as well as for travellers, although you are forbidden to hunt on land while you are in the state of pilgrimage.2 And be conscious of God, unto whom you shall be gathered.
  • Lit., "the game of the sea and its food". Since the term bahr denotes any large accumulation of water, the classical commentators and jurists agree in that the above ordinance comprises all water-game, whether derived from seas, rivers, lakes or ponds (Tabari). The pronoun in ta'amuhu (lit., "its food") relates to the word bahr, and thus indicates the fish and other marine animals which may have been cast forth by the waves onto the shore (Tabari, Razi). Zamakhshari, however, regards the pronoun as relating to the object of the game (sayd) as such, and, consequently, understands the phrase as meaning "the eating thereof". Either of these two readings is agreeable with the text inasmuch as the above verse lays down that all kinds of water-game are lawful to a believer - even if he is in the state of pilgrimage - whereas hunting on land (sayd al-barn) iis forbidden to the pilgrim.
  • According to Al-Hasan al-Basri (as quoted by Tabari), the "travellers" are, in this context, synonymous with "pilgrims": in other words, water-game of all descriptions is lawful to the believers irrespective of whether they are on pilgrimage or not.