Surah 6. Al-An'am, Ayah 118

The purpose of this and the following verse is not, as might appear at first glance, a repetition of already-promulgated food laws but, rather, a reminder that the observance of such laws should not be made an end in itself and an object of ritual: and this is the reason why these two verses have been placed in the midst of a discourse on God's transcendental unity and the ways of man's faith. The "errant views" spoken of in verse {119} are such as lay stress on artificial rituals and taboos rather than on spiritual values.