A group of Jews came to the Prophet of Allah ﷺ one day and said, "Abu Qasim, tell us about certain matters we will ask you about, which only a prophet can know."He replied, "Ask me whatever you wish, but give me Allah's covenant, the same pledge that Yaqub took from his sons, that if I tell you something and you recognize it as true, you will follow me in Islam."They said, "You have our word."He said, "Then ask me whatever you wish."They said, "Tell us about four matters we will ask you about. Inform us, which food did Israil forbid for himself before the Torah was sent down?"The Prophet ﷺ said, "I adjure you by the One who sent down the Torah to Musa, do you not know that Israil, who is Yaqub
, suffered a severe illness, and his sickness lasted long, so he made a vow to Allah that if Allah Most High cured him of his illness he would forbid himself the drink he loved most and the food he loved most? The food he loved most was the meat of camels, and the drink he loved most was their milk."They said, "By Allah, yes."And he mentioned the rest of the hadith.
حضرت عصابة من اليهود نبي الله ﷺ يوما، فقالوا: يا أبا القاسم! حدثنا عن خلال نسألك عنهن، لا يعلمهن إلا نبي، قال: سلوني عما شئتم، ولكن اجعلوا لي ذمة الله وما أخذ يعقوب عليه السلام على بنيه لئن حدثتكم شيئا فعرفتموه لتتابعني على الإسلام قالوا: فذلك لك. قال: فسلوني عما شئتم قالوا: أخبرنا عن أربع خلال نسألك عنهن، أخبرنا أي الطعام حرم إسرائيل على نفسه من قبل أن تنزل التوراة… فقال النبي ﷺ: فأنشدكم بالذي أنزل التوراة على موسى هل تعلمون أن إسرائيل يعقوب عليه السلام مرض مرضا شديدا، وطال سقمه، فنذر الله نذرا لئن شفاه الله تعالى من سقمه ليحرمن أحب الشراب إليه، وأحب الطعام إليه، وكان أحب الطعام إليه لحمان الإبل، وأحب الشراب إليه ألبانها؟ قالوا: اللهم نعم… وذكر بقية الحديث.
Ahmad narrated it (2514, 2483) through two routes, and Ibn Abu Hatim in his Tafsir (3/704), both from the hadith of Ibn Abbas, each strengthening the other. See its detailed sourcing in al-Iman bi-Khalq Jibreel wa Sifatihi.I say, Israil is Yaqub , and it is to him that the people of Banu Israil trace their lineage. So the sons of Yaqub
, and his descendants after them, continued to observe this prohibition of camel meat and milk until Musa
came. As for the Torah that Allah Most High revealed to Musa
, it did not contain this prohibition. This is what the saying of Allah Most High refers to, "before the Torah was revealed" [Al Imran 3:93].