( قُل) (Say): Allah (swt) says to the Prophet (saws) what he should answer the Jews and Polytheists in Mecca, who worshiped idols and statues and benefited from them; who falsely deal with the meat of the sacrifices; claiming that Allah (swt) allowed this and prohibited that; and divided this and that between their partners and others, and they did all this out of lies and deceit: Allah (swt) tells him (saws) to say:
( لَّا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ ) (I do not find within that which was revealed to me): The revelation is the Holy Quran.
(مُحَرَّمًا عَلَىٰ طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ ) (forbidden to one who would eat it):
( إِلَّا أَن يَكُونَ) (unless it be): Referring to food.
( مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَّسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌ أَوْ فِسْقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ) (a dead animal or blood spilled out or the flesh of swine – for indeed, it is impure – or it be [that slaughtered in] disobedience, dedicated to other than Allah.): In Surah Al-Maaida, Allah (swt) says:
حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُوا بِالْأَزْلَامِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ
(Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience) (Al-Maaida: 3)
In the Holy Quran, we find both style of generalization and specification. In this verse of Surah Al-An’aam, there is generalization because (dead animal) includes not only dead animals, but also blood, what is killed by strangulation, or by violent blow to the head, or by a head-long fall, or goring of the horns, and those from which wild animals have eaten; they were all considered as one.
(أوْ دَمًا مَّسْفُوحًا) (or blood spilled out): When an animal is slaughtered, both pure and corrupt blood pours out of its body. The corrupt blood is made unlawful (haram) because it harms human beings; however, if the meat has some blood in it, then it is permissible for us to eat. But in the case of dead animals, both pure and corrupt blood remain in the animal’s body, and this is the difference between dead and slaughtered animals.
( أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌ أَوْ فِسْقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ ) (or the flesh of swine – for indeed, it is impure – or it be disobedience, dedicated to other than Allah): The Arabic article of (Or) is a proposition of conjunction. But (disobedience) did not come in conjunction with the word (impure). Otherwise, according to Arabic grammar, it would have been written (Fisqon (not (Fisqan) as it is written here. So, only the flesh of swine is impure. (For indeed, it is impure): is a parenthesis. (Or it be [that slaughtered in] disobedience): Refers to dead animals and the blood that was poured out.
( فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ) (But whoever is forced [by necessity]): Allah (swt) charges each person according to his own necessity:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
(Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.) (Al-Baqara: 286)
If necessity arises and there is life threatening, then it is permissible to eat only the necessary amount of that forbidden meat to preserve the life of that human being.
(غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلَا عَادٍ ) (neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit]): Without transgressing the limits made by Allah (swt), nor what He (swt) made lawful or unlawful.
( فَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ) (then indeed, your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful): Necessities permit prohibitions. As long as it is out of necessity, then Allah (swt) is Forgiving and Merciful.