How can the restriction of prohibition to carrion, blood, pork, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah in the verse: (He has only forbidden to you carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah) be reconciled with the prohibition of other things, such as predatory animals with fangs, which were mentioned in the Sunnah?

Three passages in the Holy Quran restrict prohibited foods to carrion, flowing blood, the flesh of swine, and that over which a name other than Allah’s has been invoked. However, the Prophetic Sunnah has established the prohibition of other things, including: the flesh of domesticated donkeys, every beast of prey with fangs, every bird of prey with talons, and mules.

Scholars have differed in reconciling these texts. The Maliki school, in one narration, held that prohibitions are limited to what is mentioned in the Quran. However, the majority of scholars believe that everything whose prohibition is established by the Sunnah is acceptable and does not contradict the Holy Quran. Some have said that the later prohibitions abrogate the mafhum (understood meaning) of the verse, while others said that the restriction in the verses was intended for the time of their revelation, and then other things were prohibited.

The conclusion is that the Quranic text and scholarly consensus have affirmed the prohibition of other things not mentioned in the verse, such as intoxicants (alcohol). This indicates that the restriction in the verses does not mean that only these four are prohibited; rather, it was intended for the time of the verses’ revelation. Everything whose prohibition is established by a text from the Book (Quran) or the Sunnah is added to the prohibitions mentioned in the verses.