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Fatwa CenterWhat 'pure milk' means in verse 6:66
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. My question is regarding verse 16:66. In it, it states that milk is pure. But scientific studies show that raw milk can be very dangerous and that it contains some bacteria that can cause dangerous infections. Raw milk has some very good benefits, but it still has many harmful things in it. I seek refuge with Allaah, I have met some disbelievers who stated that this was a mistake in the Quran. What is your response to this? May Allaah bless you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Allaah says (what means): {And indeed, for you in grazing livestock is a lesson. We give you drink from what is in their bellies - between excretion and blood - pure milk, palatable to drinkers.} [Quran 16:66]
The Quran speaks in this verse about a great sign, that the milk is free from any harm or dirt found in the blood or in the excrement.
Tafseer At-Tabari reads:
"Allaah says (what means): {…between excretion and blood - pure milk…} [Quran 16:66]; meaning: We give you to drink milk, and We get it out for you from between blood and excretion pure; He says: it is free from mixing with blood and excretion; {palatable to drinkers} Allaah says that it is suitable for whoever drinks it, so a person does not choke on it as he chokes when eating some other food, and it was said, 'No one has ever choked by drinking milk.'”
Besides, Tafseer Al-Baghawi reads:
“Pure milk, from blood and excretion, and it does not have the color of blood or the smell of excretions, palatable to the drinkers, smooth and easy in going down the throat. It was also said, 'No one has ever choked by drinking milk.' Ibn ‘Abbaas said, 'When the animal eats animal feed and it settles in its stomach, and it digests it, then underneath it, there is excretion, and in the middle is milk, and on the top is the blood; the liver controls it and divides it by the Decree of Allaah, so the blood flows in the veins and the milk in the udder and the excretion stays as it is.'”
The verse does not negate all harms from milk; rather, the verse did not speak about this at all, so the alleged mistake does not exist.
What some contemporaries claim – if it is scientifically proven – can be removed by pasteurization and the like.
Allaah knows best.
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