⦗59–60⦘ “Say, ‘Consider the provision Allah has sent down for you, of which you have declared some unlawful and some lawful.’ Say, ‘Has Allah given you permission, or are you fabricating lies against Allah? What do those who fabricate lies against Allah expect on the Day of Resurrection? Indeed, Allah is truly bountiful to mankind, but most of them are not grateful.’”

Allah the Exalted says, denouncing the polytheists who devised prohibitions on what Allah had made lawful and declared lawful what He had forbidden (1): “Say, ‘Consider the provision Allah has sent down for you’”—meaning the various kinds of lawful animals, which Allah made a provision and a mercy for them. “Of which you have declared some unlawful and some lawful.” Say to them, rebuking them for this false claim: “Has Allah given you permission, or are you fabricating lies against Allah?” It is well known that Allah gave them no such permission, and thus it is clear that they are fabricators.

“What do those who fabricate lies against Allah expect on the Day of Resurrection?” What exemplary chastisement do they think Allah will inflict upon them, and what punishment will He bring down upon them? Allah the Exalted says: “On the Day of Resurrection, you will see those who lied against Allah with their faces blackened.”

“Indeed, Allah is truly bountiful to mankind”: His bounty is abundant and His beneficence immense. “But most of them are not grateful.” They either fail to give due thanks for His blessings, use them to aid them in disobeying Him, or declare some of them unlawful and reject what Allah has graciously bestowed upon His servants. Only a few are grateful: they acknowledge the blessing, praise Allah for it, and use it to help them obey Him.

This verse is also cited as evidence that all foods are presumed lawful unless the revealed law states that they are prohibited, for Allah denounced those who declared unlawful the provision He had sent down for His servants.