Surah Al-Mu'minun, Ayah 54

The Command to eat Lawful Food and to do Righteous Deeds

Allah commands His servants and Messengers, peace be upon them all, to eat lawful food and do righteous deeds, which indicates that eating what is lawful helps one to do righteous deeds. The Prophets, peace be upon them, did this in the most perfect manner, and did all kinds of good deeds in words, actions, guidance and advice. May Allah reward them with good on behalf of the people.

كُلُواْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَـتِ

(Eat of the Tayyibat) Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ad-Dahhak said, "This means lawful. In the Sahih it says:

«وَمَا مِنْ نَبِيَ إِلَّا رَعَى الْغَنَم»

(There is no Prophet who was not a shepherd.) They asked, "And you, O Messenger of Allah" He said,

فَتَقَطَّعُوا أَمْرَهُم بَيْنَهُمْ زُبُرًا But they split up ways from one another (dividing themselves) into factions - 23:53). The word زُبُر is the plural of زُبُور meaning a book, and the verse would mean that Allah had commanded all prophets and their followers to adhere to the one and only faith revealed by Him in all matters relating to the basic principles and beliefs. But the followers of different prophets split up into groups and sects and each one of them chose a different way of life and adopted a different book in which the beliefs of each group and sect were recorded. Sometimes زبر is used for the plural of زُبرَہ (zubrah) meaning "fragment" or "group". This meaning is more appropriate here and the meaning of the verse would be that these people were divided into sects even in the matter of fundamental beliefs of their religion. It should be noted that the difference of opinion among the mujtahidin (competent Shari` ah Scholars) in some minor issues is not included in this division which is condemned in this verse, because these differences do not cause a division of the religion, nor do the people maintaining these differences become separate sects. Giving these interpretative and subsidiary differences a sectarian colour is the height of ignorance and no religious scholar would support it.

Religion is originally one, and the same religion was taught to all the prophets. Religion enhances man spiritually so that he may discover God as an Almighty Being. His mind and soul should be imbued with the idea of the one God, Who is watching his every move, and after his death will take a reckoning of all his deeds. This realization (ma‘rifah) is the real religion. As a man enters the fold of realization, he begins to adopt righteous and pious methods in all his affairs. The realization of God essentially results in fear of God, and fear of God necessarily results in a pious life.