What is the reason behind stating these verses about mentioning the name of Allah (swt) before eating, slaughtering cattle, and similar matters in this context? In previous verses, Allah (swt) speaks about the disbelievers, hypocrites, and what they did:

 وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَىٰ وَحَشَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ قُبُلًا مَّا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَجْهَلُونَ

(And even if We had sent down to them the angels [with the message] and the dead spoke to them [of it] and We gathered together every [created] thing in front of them, they would not believe unless Allah should will. But most of them, [of that], are ignorant.) (Al-An’aam: 111)

And Allah (swt) makes it clear that each Prophet has an enemy, when He (swt) says:

 وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ ۖ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ

(And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy – devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in delusion. But if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it, so leave them and that which they invent) (Al-An’aam:112)

There are many other verses which indicate that there are enemies for the Prophets (PBUT).

These enmities are one of Allah’s wisdoms on humanity, as the truth is revealed through them. Allah (swt) sent His Messengers, peace be upon them, and their enemies who try to find faults. Nowadays, we see how a lot of people search to find faults about anything related to Islam. They made Islam equivalent to terrorism in their minds. They also made hatred, envy, jealousy, and cancellation of ‘the other’ as basics of Islam. However, the truth is nothing like that. They behaved the same way at the time of the Prophet (saws). Here Allah (swt) refutes their claims, when He (swt) says:

( فَكُلُوا مِمَّا ذُكِرَ اسْمُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ إِن كُنتُم بِآيَاتِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ) (So eat of that [meat] upon which the name of Allah has been mentioned, if you are believers in His verses): Because Allah (swt) has clarified what is lawful (halal) and what is unlawful (haram):

 ِإنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ

(He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah) (An-Nahel: 115)

Some of the enemies who tried to attack Islam raised this question: How is that Allah (swt) has allowed us to eat from what we kill, but we are not allowed to eat from what He (swt) kills? They did not differentiate between [natural] death and killing. They were only looking for a fault in the Islamic law. This is diversion and distortion of the truth, but the truth is completely the opposite. As mentioned in previous verses, Allah (swt) differentiates between death and killing, saying:

 وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ ۚ أَفَإِن مَّاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ انقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَىٰ أَعْقَابِكُمْ

(Muhammad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him. So if he was to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels [to unbelief]?) (Ali-Imraan: 144)

The human being is made up of body and soul. Death is when the soul leaves the body without destroying the physical constitution. Allah (swt) made a law that if the body was destroyed, then the soul will leave it by His (swt) will. So, He (swt) has forbidden eating the meat of dead animals that died without slaughtering. The recent advance of science, however, proved that forbidding the eating of the meat of dead animals is for the benefit of mankind. The Arabic word of slaughtered animal is called “Sacrifice”; this is because we sacrifice the good blood in order to get rid of the bad blood in the body. When the animal is slaughtered, both good and bad blood run out, and this is why it is beneficial to humans and their health that they do not eat the bad blood of animals, which contain harmful wastes.

(إِن كُنتُم بِآيَاتِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ) (if you are believers in His verses): When we obey a Divine Command, we do it out of faith whether we know the wisdom behind it or not because we believe that Allah (swt) Who has created us knows well what is best for us. When He (swt) forbids something, certainly it is for the good of mankind, and when He (swt) allows something, this is as well for his benefit. Again, when this verse was dictated, the enemies argued: “How can you eat what you kill while you do not eat what Allah has killed?” The question is a mixing up of facts, deception, and manipulation of the truth. This is why Allah (swt) answers them by saying: