“Except what Israel had made unlawful for himself”—that is, Jacob, peace be upon him—“before the Torah was sent down.” This means that the matter was not as they claimed, namely, that camel meat and milk had been forbidden to Abraham. Rather, all foods had been lawful for him and for the Children of Israel; it was Israel himself who had forbidden them to himself before the Torah was sent down. That is, their prohibition is not found in the Torah.

They differed regarding the food that Jacob had forbidden to himself and the reason for it. Abu al-‘Aliyah, ‘Ata’, Muqatil, and al-Kalbi said: That food was camel meat and milk. It is related that Jacob fell gravely ill, and his illness lasted a long time. He vowed that, if Allah cured him of his sickness, he would forbid himself the food and drink most beloved to him. The food dearest to him was camel meat, and the drink dearest to him was its milk, so he forbade both to himself.

Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, al-Suddi, and al-Dahhak said: It was the sinews.

The reason for this, according to what Juwaybir and Muqatil related from al-Dahhak, was that Jacob suffered from sciatica. The origin of his pain was that Jacob had vowed that, if Allah granted him twelve sons and enabled him to reach Jerusalem in good health, he would sacrifice the last of them. An angel [from among the angels] (1) met him and said, “O Jacob, you are a strong man. Would you wrestle with me?” So Jacob grappled with him, but neither of them threw the other. Then the angel pinched him once, and Jacob developed sciatica as a result. The angel then said to him, “Had I wished to throw you down, I would have done so. Rather, I pinched you in this way because you had vowed that, if you reached Jerusalem in good health, you would sacrifice your last child. Through this pinch, Allah has provided you with a way out of that.” When Jacob arrived there, he intended to sacrifice his son, having forgotten the angel’s words. Then the angel came to him and said, “I only pinched you to provide a way out, and your vow has been fulfilled; so you have no claim upon your son.”

Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, and al-Suddi said: Jacob was travelling from Harran to Jerusalem after fleeing from his brother Esau, who was a violent and powerful man. An angel met him, and Jacob thought him to be a thief, so he grappled with him, seeking to throw him down. The angel pinched Jacob’s thigh, then ascended into heaven while Jacob, peace be upon him, watched him. His sciatica then flared up, and he suffered great affliction and hardship from it. He could not sleep at night because of the pain, and would spend the night crying out. Jacob swore that, if Allah cured him, he would not eat any sinew or any food containing sinew. Thus, he forbade it to himself. Thereafter, his sons would search through the meat for sinews and remove them.

Juwaybir related from al-Dahhak, from Ibn ‘Abbas: When Jacob was afflicted with sciatica, physicians advised him to avoid camel meat; so Jacob forbade it to himself.

Al-Hasan said: Israel forbade himself camel meat as an act of worship devoted to Allah, exalted is He. He asked his Lord to permit this for him, so Allah forbade it to his descendants. (2)