Bees (Al-Nahl)

Commentary

(a) This verse is not connected with general law-making; it relates rather to the treatment of certain food items as prohibited or permitted. Man has always arbitrarily treated one set of food items as permitted and another set as prohibited. This has resulted either from the influence of superstition or from the desire to pander to the self. But the people responsible for this attribute it to religion. The harm done by the above-mentioned prohibition and permission is that it develops a superstitious and self-loving mentality in people, whereas the correct approach for man is to live in this world as a God-worshipper. In the present life, man has been given freedom in order to create the right conditions for putting him to the test. The opportunity available to him to make superstition or self gratification his religion is due to his having this freedom. When this period of testing ends, man will suddenly find that there was only one choice for him and that was making God-worship his religion. When he chose to do otherwise, this was only a misuse of the freedom of the test period and not the legitimate use of a right. When the testing period is over, he will face the same punishment as all the others who fail the test are destined to suffer. Having turned things permitted by God into prohibited things, they put themselves to unnecessary trouble and then they made legitimate the list of prohibited items by enshrining it in their beliefs. In this way they became doubly guilty. If, in adherence to any self-made concept, a man makes a legitimate thing illegitimate for himself and for that reason starts making sacrifices, then this will amount to self-oppression and not to a sacrifice made to God.