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Al-Bahira
(Cattle with slit ears)
Bahira
means a she camel/goat/sheep whose ear is torn. Its milk was reserved for the
idols and their milking was prohibited.
In the pre-Islamic period of
Jahilliyah (Ignorance) several animals were let loose to wander freely
and no work was taken from them and they were not used in any form.
These animals had different names such as Bahira, Sa”ibah,
Wasilah and Ham.
There is a difference of
opinion on the meaning of Bahira and about the conditions under
which the ears of a she camel/goat/sheep used to be torn. According to some, their
ears were torn when their fifth offspring happened to be a female. In the
Qur-an the word Bahira is used along with other names
for correcting the prevalent false beliefs of the Arabs.
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Allah
has not instituted things like Bahîrah1,
or Sâ’ibah2,
or Wasîlah3,
or Hâm4
(all these animals were liberated in honour of idols as practised by pagan Arabs
in the pre-Islâmic period). But those who disbelieve invent lies against Allâh,
and most of them have no understanding.
Surah (Chapter) al-Ma”idah
(The Table Spread with Food) The Qur-an 5:103 |
Allah
(God) made Ayyub A (Job)
His Rasul (Messenger)
and send him to deliver His Message to his desert people of north-eastern Filistin
(Palestine).
1.
(V.5:103) Bahirah: a she-camel whose milk was spared for the sake of the
idols and nobody was allowed to milk it.
2.
(V.5:103) Sa’ibah: a she-camel let loose for free pasture for their false
gods, e.g. idols and nothing was allowed
to be carried
on it.
3. (V.5:103)
Wasîlah: a she-camel set free for idols because it has given birth to
a she-camel at its first delivery and second
delivery.
4. (V.5:103) Ham: a stallion-camel
freed from work for the sake of their idols, after it had finished a number of
copulations
assigned for it.
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