Mentioning the name of Allah over food
ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ
isma llāhi ʿalayhi — the name of Allah over it
The verses given build a frame — mentioning the name of Allah over something — applied to livestock, sacrificial animals, hunted game, and food generally, and set against both its omission (6:121) and its false restriction by some speakers (6:138).
The expression appears in two grammatical shapes in the verses given. In the active it is a command — 'mention the name of Allah over them' (22:36), 'mention the name of Allah over it' (5:4) — or a purpose clause: 'so that they may mention the name of Allah over what He has provided them of the cattle-beasts of the livestock' (22:34). In the passive it becomes a condition on eating: 'eat from that over which the name of Allah has been mentioned' (6:118), the reproach 'what is [the matter] with you that you do not eat from what the name of Allah has been mentioned over' (6:119), and the prohibition 'do not eat from that over which the name of Allah has not been mentioned; for indeed, it is surely grave deviancy' (6:121). The slot is filled by the animal or food in question: cattle-beasts provided (22:34), the sacrificial bodies standing in rows (22:36), game held back by trained beasts (5:4), and unspecified food (6:118, 6:119, 6:121). The frame also appears in reported speech: some say 'livestock over which they do not mention the name of Allah', which the verse labels 'fabrication against Him' (6:138). Read together, the verses given show the formula marking animals and food as objects of the act of mentioning, with eating tied to whether the name has been mentioned over the thing, and with one group's withholding of the act from certain livestock called fabrication.
Where it occurs
- 22:34 The frame appears in a purpose clause: communities are appointed a mansak so that they mention the name of Allah over the cattle He has provided them.
- 22:36 The frame is an imperative over the sacrificial bodies, to be done while they are standing in rows, before eating from them.
- 5:4 The frame is an imperative over what the trained hunting beasts hold back, joined to the command to eat from it.
- 6:118 The frame is a passive condition: eat from that over which the name of Allah has been mentioned.
- 6:119 The frame is the same passive condition, used in a reproach for not eating from what the name of Allah has been mentioned over.
- 6:121 The frame is negated: do not eat from that over which the name of Allah has not been mentioned, called grave deviancy.
- 6:138 The frame is negated inside reported speech about livestock, and the withholding is labeled fabrication against Him.
All Qur'anic expressions