His statement, “the disbelievers,” includes both the original disbeliever and the apostate.

His statement, “even if their slaughtered animals are not lawful,” alludes to a point of disagreement (1). The only disbelievers whose slaughtered animals are lawful are the Jews and Christians, as Allah the Exalted says:

“And the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them.” [al-Ma’idah 5:5]

What is meant by their food is their slaughtered animals, as Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) explained (2). It does not mean their bread, barley, and the like, for these are lawful for us whether they come from them or from others.

The slaughtered animals of the Zoroastrians, atheists, idolaters, and other disbelievers are not lawful. Their vessels, however, are permissible to use. If someone asks, “What is the evidence?” we say: it is the general import of Allah’s statement:

“It is He who created for you all that is on the earth.” [al-Baqarah 2:29]

Moreover, when Allah permitted for us the food of the People of the Book, it is known that they would sometimes bring it to us cooked in their own vessels. It is also established that a Jewish youth invited the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, to barley bread and rancid melted fat (3), and he ate from it. Likewise, he ate from the poisoned sheep that was presented to him as a gift at Khaybar (4). It is also established that he and his Companions performed ablution from a woman’s waterskin.