What the Qurʾān Commands

In Sūrat al-Muʾminūn:

"O My messengers, eat of the good things, tayyibāt, and do righteous work; I am aware of what you do." Allah (swt) here addresses all the leaders of mankind — by one count, the hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets^* sent since Ādam (peace be upon him) first arrived on this earth. The rusul, the messengers, are the leaders of their communities, and in addressing the leaders Allah (swt) addresses the rest of mankind with them: eat, He says, consume, of the good things. Ḥalāl, by definition, means good; tayyib means good, wholesome, and there is never a thing that is ḥarām and tayyib at once — tayyib, by its very nature, is pure. Allah (swt) is telling all the prophets, and through them all humankind, to eat of the good things and do good deeds, aʿmāl ṣāliḥah, for He knows what is done: He is constantly watching, His angels are constantly recording, and not a single instant escapes His attention. He has given every person a choice, a will, an intellect, and guidance — only a person can understand that guidance, read it, learn it, and follow it — and whoever submits to it in humility is regarded as a believer, a Muslim; without that, there is no difference between a person and an animal, and the animal is the better of the two.

Elsewhere, in Sūrat al-Baqarah:

"O mankind, eat of that which is lawful and good in the earth, and follow not the footsteps of Shayṭān, for he is to you a manifest enemy." His whole function is to deceive: to place waswasah, whispered suggestion, before a person, urging what is ḥarām — eat this, consume that. That is his job, that is his purpose, and a person must be ready to refuse it rather than listen to Shayṭān, the accursed one. There is plenty of ḥalāl — Allah (swt) has given millions upon millions of different foods that nourish and benefit — so there is no need to go and consume ḥarām at all:

"Indeed, Shayṭān is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy." Where is this Shayṭān, then — nobody can even see him. He is min al-jinn, an invisible being, and from the age of puberty each person is assigned one of his offspring, whose constant occupation is to suggest and to deviate. He cannot compel a person physically to do anything; he can only suggest, and keep suggesting, exactly as he undertook to Allah (swt) that he would. On the subject of ḥalāl and ḥarām, and food in particular, he comes with excuses: it is only makrūh, it is only doubtful, it is fine, just a little, there is no need to be embarrassed in front of friends, it does not matter, a ham sandwich is fine, Allah created the pig too. Every excuse and gimmick imaginable will be produced — none of it changes anything. Allah's (swt) command is simply to eat what is ḥalāl and pure.

Again, in the same sūrah:

"O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided for you, and give thanks to Allah, if it is truly Him that you worship." Those addressed here are the ones who carry the name Islam and Muslim, who have said Lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh and, in effect, signed a contract with Allah (swt) Almighty. His command is to eat the good things provided in plenty, and to give thanks, shukr: whoever calls himself a Muslim, once that food is taken, says alḥamdulillāh, shukr yā Rabbī. This is why a Muslim, after eating, says Alḥamdulillāhi alladhī aṭʿamanā wa saqānā wa jaʿalanā minal-Muslimīn, Alḥamdulillāhi Rabbil-ʿālamīn — thanks to Allah for providing this food, an acknowledgement of where it has truly come from.