Meaning of Uhilla

Below is the Arabic for the fourth dietary prohibition from the four verses. We can see that the Arabic for 5:3 and 16:115 are identical and that 2:173 switches the word “bihi” ( بِهِ / therein) to before “lagairi” ( لِغَيْرِ / to other than). So the crux of the understanding rests on the meaning of the word “uhilla” ( أُهِلَّ ).

2:173	وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ
6:145	أَوْ فِسْقًا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ
5:3	وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ
16:115	وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ

It is worth noting that the English word “dedicate,” as used in the translation, has a broader scope of meaning than the Arabic word “uhilla” ( أُهِلَّ ), which is the word used in the four verses specifying the dietary prohibitions, 2:173, 5:3, 6:145, and 116:115.

When we consult Classical Arabic dictionaries, we see that the root for this word is"ha-lam-lam" ( ه ل ل ). This root only occurs in these four verses in the context of dietary prohibitions as well as one occurrence in 2:189 regarding the new moon. Additionally, we see that this word means explicitly invoking the name of an entity upon an animal at the time of slaughter.

2:173	uhilla	أُهِلَّ	it was dedicated at the time of slaughter
2:189	l-ahilati	ٱلْأَهِلَّةِ	the new moons.
5:3	uhilla	أُهِلَّ	it was dedicated at the time of slaughter
6:145	uhilla	أُهِلَّ	it was dedicated at the time of slaughter
16:115	uhilla	أُهِلَّ	it was dedicated at the time of slaughter

As a side note, it is worth mentioning that the difference between Ahilla and Uhilla is that Ahilla is invoking the name of God upon an animal before slaughtering it, while Uhilla is the animal itself that is being invoked upon before being slaughtered.