Salaam Alaikum,
I was wondering what Muslims on the forum think of this verse below from the Quran:
16:66
And verily in cattle (too) will ye find an instructive sign. From what is within their bodies between excretions and blood, We produce, for your drink, milk, pure and agreeable to those who drink it.
The verse is one of several verses in this chapter, describing God's creation.
It is true that cattle give people milk, and that God created cattle and therefore also the milk for people.
Milk is healthy for most people, and for most who drink it, it is palatable.
The tafsirs below show that that according to the Quran, it is savoury to those who drink it, and it does not cause people to choke. According to Ibn Qathir, it was given to mankind.
Tafsir Ibn Abbas
(And lo! in the cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from betwixt the refuse and the blood), We extract (pure milk palatable to the drinkers) savoury to the drinkers.
Tafsir Al Jalalayn
And truly for you there is in the cattle a lesson, an example to learn from. We give you to drink [this introduces] the explanation of the lesson of that which is in their bellies, the cattles [bellies], from (min indicates a new subject and is semantically connected to nusqīkum, We give you to drink) between the refuse, the intestinal waste, and the blood, pure milk, uncontaminated by either the refuse or the blood, neither in its taste, odour or colour, even though it [the milk] is [situated] between the two, palatable to drinkers, easily passing down their throats, not causing any choking.
Tafsir Ibn Qathir
(there is for you) - O mankind -
﴿فِى الاٌّنْعَـمِ﴾
(in the cattle) - meaning camels, cows and sheep,
﴿لَعِبْرَةً﴾
(a lesson) meaning a sign and an evidence of the wisdom, power, mercy and kindness of the Creator.
﴿نُّسْقِيكُمْ مِّمَّا فِى بُطُونِهِ﴾
(We have made a drink for you out of what is in its belly) meaning its singular forms refers to one cattle, or it could refer to the whole species. For cattle are the creatures which provide a drink from what is in their bellies and in another Ayah it is `in their bellies.' Either way is plausible. He said,
﴿مِن بَيْنِ فَرْثٍ وَدَمٍ لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا﴾
(from between excretions and blood, pure milk
meaning it is free of blood, and is pure in its whiteness, taste and sweetness. It is between excrement and blood in the belly of the animal, but each of them goes its own way after the food has been fully digested in its stomach. The blood goes to the veins, the milk goes to the udder, the urine goes to the bladder and the feces goes to the anus. None of them gets mixed with another after separating, and none of them is affected by the other.
﴿لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا سَآئِغًا لِلشَّارِبِينَ﴾
(pure milk; palatable to the drinkers.) meaning nothing to cause one to choke on it. When Allah mentions milk and how He has made it a palatable drink for mankind, He follows this with a reference to the drinks that people make from the fruits of the date palm and grapevine, and what they used to do with intoxicating Nabidh (drink made from dates) before it was forbidden.
Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Lessons and Blessings in Cattle and the Fruit of the Date-palm and Grapevine
While milk is indeed healthy and a good thing... this is not true for all people.
Some people, a very small percentage of the world's population, suffer from milk allergy. When they drink milk, their body reacts to its components by the appearance of skin rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath. In some cases, it leads to anaphylaxis and death.
http://www.foodreactions.org/allergy/milk.html
Milk allergy - MayoClinic.com
Most people with a milk allergy outgrow it after passing infancy. Others however have it for their whole lives. And some will develop it later in their lives, even as adults.
Saying that milk is "agreeable" for those who drink it, is like saying that bee stings are "harmless" for those who are stung, or that aspirin is "agreeable" for those who swallow it. While most people are not affected negatively by either milk, aspirin or bee stings, there are millions who are. Saying that something is "agreeable" for "those who ingest it" is not true if the substance causes harm to some people. You can say that aspirin and milk are agreeable for most who ingest them, and that bee stings are harmless to most people. But making blanket statements like the one above is irresponsible and false. If a doctor went on tv and said that a certain drug is good for those who take it, and didn't offer a disclaimer, he would be fired and probably also sued for negligence.
The Quran's author probably had no idea of such a thing such as milk allergy, and this is not surprising. They are very rare (fortunately), and he probably had no idea that it isn't a good idea to tell humanity that milk is agreeable for those who drink it. A human being living in the 7th century wouldn't have known something like that.
God, however, would have. I see 16:66 as yet another proof that God did not write the Quran.
I am curious to hear what you think of this.
Allahma3k. Blessed be His Name.
I was wondering what Muslims on the forum think of this verse below from the Quran:
16:66
And verily in cattle (too) will ye find an instructive sign. From what is within their bodies between excretions and blood, We produce, for your drink, milk, pure and agreeable to those who drink it.
The verse is one of several verses in this chapter, describing God's creation.
It is true that cattle give people milk, and that God created cattle and therefore also the milk for people.
Milk is healthy for most people, and for most who drink it, it is palatable.
The tafsirs below show that that according to the Quran, it is savoury to those who drink it, and it does not cause people to choke. According to Ibn Qathir, it was given to mankind.
Tafsir Ibn Abbas
(And lo! in the cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from betwixt the refuse and the blood), We extract (pure milk palatable to the drinkers) savoury to the drinkers.
Tafsir Al Jalalayn
And truly for you there is in the cattle a lesson, an example to learn from. We give you to drink [this introduces] the explanation of the lesson of that which is in their bellies, the cattles [bellies], from (min indicates a new subject and is semantically connected to nusqīkum, We give you to drink) between the refuse, the intestinal waste, and the blood, pure milk, uncontaminated by either the refuse or the blood, neither in its taste, odour or colour, even though it [the milk] is [situated] between the two, palatable to drinkers, easily passing down their throats, not causing any choking.
Tafsir Ibn Qathir
(there is for you) - O mankind -
﴿فِى الاٌّنْعَـمِ﴾
(in the cattle) - meaning camels, cows and sheep,
﴿لَعِبْرَةً﴾
(a lesson) meaning a sign and an evidence of the wisdom, power, mercy and kindness of the Creator.
﴿نُّسْقِيكُمْ مِّمَّا فِى بُطُونِهِ﴾
(We have made a drink for you out of what is in its belly) meaning its singular forms refers to one cattle, or it could refer to the whole species. For cattle are the creatures which provide a drink from what is in their bellies and in another Ayah it is `in their bellies.' Either way is plausible. He said,
﴿مِن بَيْنِ فَرْثٍ وَدَمٍ لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا﴾
(from between excretions and blood, pure milk
meaning it is free of blood, and is pure in its whiteness, taste and sweetness. It is between excrement and blood in the belly of the animal, but each of them goes its own way after the food has been fully digested in its stomach. The blood goes to the veins, the milk goes to the udder, the urine goes to the bladder and the feces goes to the anus. None of them gets mixed with another after separating, and none of them is affected by the other. ﴿لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا سَآئِغًا لِلشَّارِبِينَ﴾
(pure milk; palatable to the drinkers.) meaning nothing to cause one to choke on it. When Allah mentions milk and how He has made it a palatable drink for mankind, He follows this with a reference to the drinks that people make from the fruits of the date palm and grapevine, and what they used to do with intoxicating Nabidh (drink made from dates) before it was forbidden.
Quran Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Lessons and Blessings in Cattle and the Fruit of the Date-palm and Grapevine
While milk is indeed healthy and a good thing... this is not true for all people.
Some people, a very small percentage of the world's population, suffer from milk allergy. When they drink milk, their body reacts to its components by the appearance of skin rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath. In some cases, it leads to anaphylaxis and death.
http://www.foodreactions.org/allergy/milk.html
Milk allergy - MayoClinic.com
Most people with a milk allergy outgrow it after passing infancy. Others however have it for their whole lives. And some will develop it later in their lives, even as adults.
Saying that milk is "agreeable" for those who drink it, is like saying that bee stings are "harmless" for those who are stung, or that aspirin is "agreeable" for those who swallow it. While most people are not affected negatively by either milk, aspirin or bee stings, there are millions who are. Saying that something is "agreeable" for "those who ingest it" is not true if the substance causes harm to some people. You can say that aspirin and milk are agreeable for most who ingest them, and that bee stings are harmless to most people. But making blanket statements like the one above is irresponsible and false. If a doctor went on tv and said that a certain drug is good for those who take it, and didn't offer a disclaimer, he would be fired and probably also sued for negligence.
The Quran's author probably had no idea of such a thing such as milk allergy, and this is not surprising. They are very rare (fortunately), and he probably had no idea that it isn't a good idea to tell humanity that milk is agreeable for those who drink it. A human being living in the 7th century wouldn't have known something like that.
God, however, would have. I see 16:66 as yet another proof that God did not write the Quran.
I am curious to hear what you think of this.
Allahma3k. Blessed be His Name.
