Then he explained the declaration of his enmity and the prohibition of following him by saying: "Indeed, only". He restricted it so that the matter may be negated from him by something in which there is guidance. In his saying: "He commands you", as al-Harali said, it is an indication of what Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has enabled him until it became a matter of "evil", which is the hidden vices of the souls that result in bad actions. And "fahsha" he said: it is what the nature dislikes from the visible vices, just as reason denies it and the Shari'ah finds it repugnant. Thus, the judgment of Allah's three verses agrees from the Shari'ah, reason, and nature, by which the action becomes foul. And "that you say about Allah" who possesses the highest ranks of greatness, "what you do not know" of what you open with your saying regarding the least of existents, whether it be associating partners, or claiming offspring, or permitting and prohibiting, or anything else. And indeed, He, glorified and exalted is He, has conveyed in this verse the beauty of the supplication of His servants to Him, as a kindness from Him towards them and a mercy for them, by reminding them in the context of the evidence for His oneness of what He has bestowed upon them in creating them first, and making them suitable secondly, and permitting them thirdly, and warning them against the enemy fourthly - to other than that from the subtleties of kindness and the great bounties in a context indicating all types of what is lawful and the reason for its permissibility.

The teacher Abu al-Hasan al-Harali said in the Book of the 'Urwah regarding the letter of what is lawful: The reason for the revelation of this letter is to expand the enjoyment of what Allah has created on earth of His blessings and goodness. This is in accordance with their dispositions and temperaments and the acceptance of their souls in all aspects of enjoyment from food, drink, clothing, transportation, shelter, and all that can be benefited from what Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has brought forth and what He has spread in the earth, and what their hands have worked in that from craftsmanship, composition, and mixing. So that they may witness the continuity of wearing the new creation in every creation according to what He has created. And since man was created from the purity of everything, he was expanded in the avenues of benefiting from everything except what was excluded by the letter of what is forbidden and its aspect, just as it was excluded for Adam eating from the tree of the abundant delights of Paradise. He had the enjoyment of all of it except what harmed his body or was harmful to his soul or clouded the knowledge of his heart. This is so that it may be permissible for him by nature and that its consequences may be good for the morals of his soul, and his heart may support him to the Benefactor, from whom he witnesses his beginnings and completions through experience. Then the Qur'an completed that by his sincerity to the Benefactor without any effect of anything else in it and the gathering of his abode according to the arrangement of the Qur'an, His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'He is the One who created for you what is in the earth all of it.' [Al-Baqarah: 29] And from its beginnings according to the arrangement of the clarification, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows: 'He is the One who sent down from the sky water for you, from which is drink and from it is trees in which you graze.' [An-Nahl: 10] The verse and other verses mentioned in Surah An-Nahl and in Surah Ya-Sin, as it is the heart from which the ink of the entire Qur'an flows in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And a sign for them is the dead earth; We gave it life and brought forth from it grain, so from it they eat.' [Ya-Sin: 33] The verses to all that is in the Qur'an of its kind, and from the abundance through this letter, the trial occurred upon creation by what was adorned for them of it: 'Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire of women and children.' [Aal-Imran: 14] The aspect of its trial is that according to the extent of indulgence in it, one is prohibited from the good of the Hereafter: 'You have wasted your good things in your worldly life and enjoyed them.' [Al-Ahqaf: 20] 'Indeed, only those who have no share in the Hereafter wear this.' [At-Tawbah: 69] And from the vision of the evil of this report arose the asceticism of the ascetics, and from the vision of the goodness of trade and its profit and its multiplication to what cannot be comprehended, and its bliss in selling the share of this world for the share of the Hereafter arose the piety of the pious. Their hearts found rest in asceticism, and they turned away with piety from toil, and their hearts and actions became free for exerting effort in the path of gratitude. The wretched were distinguished from the happy by their desire for it or away from it. So whoever desired what is lawful was wretched, and whoever turned away from it was happy. And it is the letter that the expansiveness of its scope was seized by the letter of prohibition until there remained for the son of Adam no share in what exceeds the roughness of food, which is a piece of bread and a garment that covers him and a house that shelters him. And whatever exceeds that is a trade; if he spends it, he profits, and if he saves it, he loses and regrets it. And for this reason, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, did not permit anyone to eat from it until he is characterized by what is good for the people who are the least addressed, with most of them being devoid of reason, gratitude, and faith: 'O mankind, eat from what is in the earth that is lawful and good.' [Al-Baqarah: 168] And He erased His name from those who believed, and they are those who do not remain steadfast nor endure in their best states, but they are sincere. And that is in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'O you who have believed, eat from the good things We have provided you.' [Al-Baqarah: 172] And it is what the letter of prohibition has made good in knowledge, and it is free from the distractions of hearts, tranquility, and it has completed and concluded the purity for the messengers. He said: 'O messengers, eat from the good things.' [Al-Mu'minun: 51] And it came as a response to their question in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'They ask you what has been made lawful for them. Say, 'Lawful for you are the good things.' [Al-Ma'idah: 4] So whoever preferred the letter of prohibition over the letter of what is lawful has indeed purified himself and followed the best and his guidance has been correct, and his heart has been purified. And whoever preferred the letter of what is lawful over the letter of prohibition has indeed been corrupted and deprived of the guidance of the books and the knowledge of wisdom and the further permanence by what he has missed of purification and has fallen into of corruption. And Allah speaks the truth, and He guides to the way. Then he said regarding what is obtained from its reading: Know that when man is a gatherer, he benefits from everything. As for in times of abundance, with the exception of a few things that harm him from the perspective of his soul or others or his Lord, as mentioned in the first section, that is the letter of what is forbidden: 'He is the One who created for you what is in the earth all of it.' [Al-Baqarah: 29] 'Say, 'I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything prohibited.' [Al-An'am: 145] As for in times of necessity, then without any exception whatsoever: 'So whoever is forced [to eat] without intending to transgress or committing sin, then there is no sin upon him.' [Al-Baqarah: 173] 'So whoever is forced in necessity, not intending to sin, then indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.' [Al-Ma'idah: 3] And what is obtained from reading this letter, as for from the perspective of the heart, is the knowledge of Allah's wisdom in what is available from His creations and the knowledge of its specific benefits from what He has created, so that it may be nourishment in abundance or necessity, and a condiment or fruit or medicine likewise. And the knowledge of the balance between benefiting from a thing and its harm and using it according to the predominant judgment of its benefit, or avoiding it according to the predominant judgment of its harm: 'Say, 'In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. And their sin is greater than their benefit.' [Al-Baqarah: 219] And that is perceived from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, by considering reason and the perception of the senses in His creations, as the Hanifites have perceived. The truthful one, may Allah be pleased with him, had prohibited wine upon himself in the days of ignorance. And when he was reproached for that, he would say: 'By Allah, if I were to find something to buy with all my wealth that would increase my intellect, I would do so. So how could I buy with my wealth something that diminishes my intellect!' And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, often pointed out Allah's wisdom, glorified and exalted is He, in the things that are to be consumed or avoided, acting upon His saying, glorified and exalted is He.

﴿And He purifies them and teaches them the Book and wisdom﴾ [Al-Imran: 164] "He said to Talhah, may Allah be pleased with him, and he handed him a quince, 'It goes well with the heaviness of the heart.'" "And he said to Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, while he was suffering from an eye ailment, 'Eat from this, for it is more suitable for you.'" "And he said regarding dates and cucumbers, 'The heat of this breaks the coolness of that.'" And he said to a person with an eye ailment: "Do you eat dates while you have an eye ailment?" "And he said to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, regarding sun-heated water, 'Do not do that, O Humayra! For it produces leprosy.'" And he said: "Use a miswak with every stick except for the myrtle and pomegranate, for they excite the veins of leprosy." "And he said to a woman who was suffering from a stomach ailment, 'Hot and irritating, did you not use senna? For if there was anything that could remove the disease, it would be senna.'" This is in addition to other matters where he permitted or prohibited, he pointed out his wisdom. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, used to say to the sick, 'Prepare for him a porridge, for it is soothing for the heart of the sick and removes some sadness.' And similar is much of the words of the scholars, may Allah be pleased with them, and the experiences of the wise and the knowledge of the upright judges. Al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding His saying, glorified and exalted is He, ﴿And He makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil﴾ [Al-A'raf: 157], the good things are what the souls of the Arabs find pleasing, and the evil things are what the souls of the Arabs find distasteful; this is from the perspective of the heart. As for from the perspective of the soul, its generosity is what falls within the shared benefits of the lawful, for being stingy with the lawful from its rightful owner is prohibited for him, and hospitality is for the people of the wool. ﴿And when the distribution is attended by relatives, orphans, and the needy, provide for them from it﴾ [An-Nisa: 8] ﴿And give the relative his due, and the needy, and the wayfarer﴾ [Al-Isra: 26] ﴿So eat from it and feed the contented and the beggar﴾ [Al-Hajj: 36] And likewise, patience regarding what he desires from the harmful matters from the mentioned aspects: ﴿Indeed, intoxicants and gambling﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 90] until His saying ﴿Perhaps you will be successful﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 90] ﴿And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly﴾ [An-Nisa: 2] ﴿And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul, it is they who will be successful﴾ [At-Taghabun: 16] And likewise, mutual consent and a good spirit in what falls within the shared benefits ﴿Except that it be a trade by mutual consent among you﴾ [An-Nisa: 29] ﴿So if they give you something willingly, then eat it with enjoyment﴾ [An-Nisa: 4] These three conditions are from generosity, patience, and mutual consent in the soul. As for in action and taking with the hand, the first of that is the remembrance of Allah and the saying of His name at every intake, for everything is for Allah, so what is taken in His name is taken with His permission, and what is taken without His name is taken stealthily and the devil shares in its intake, so the one who takes it follows him in his steps and shares with them in wealth and children; "A Bedouin and a boy came to eat food in front of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, without mentioning the name. So he took their hands and said, 'Indeed, the devil came to make this food lawful for them, and by the One in Whose hand is my soul! His hand is with my hands.' So the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, named it and ate, then released it and said, 'Eat in the name of Allah.' And he said to a boy eating, 'O boy! Mention Allah.'" The second is to eat with the right hand, for the devil eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand, and the right hand serves what is above the body and the left hand serves what is below it. The third is to take with a manner of modesty and dignity, avoiding the manner of greed. "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, used to eat with three fingers" and "drink by sucking in three sips" and he said, "It is cleaner, more pleasant, and more enjoyable." And he said, "The liver is from the liver." And the fourth is to suffice with what is less than full, for in that is goodness for nourishing the body and preserving the outward and inward senses; and among the signs of the Hour is the appearance of obesity from eating in men; and "No son of Adam fills a vessel worse than his stomach" and "Wisdom does not enter a stomach filled with food" and "The believer eats in one intestine while the disbeliever eats in seven intestines" for the believer relies on his sustenance while the disbeliever relies on food for his strength: "And it is enough for the believer to have a few morsels that keep him upright, and if he must eat, then one-third for food, one-third for drink, and one-third for breathing." I said: And perhaps the intended meaning is that the disbeliever eats to fullness, filling his stomach because the intestines, as they say, are seven, and the believer eats for sustenance, so he eats in one intestine which is one-seventh of his stomach, and if not, then in two intestines and a little, which is one-third - and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows best. Al-Harali said: And the fifth is to praise Allah at the end, for whoever does not praise Allah at the end has denied His favor. And whoever praises others than Allah has believed in his false god; so with these matters, knowledge in the heart, a state in the soul, and etiquette in action, the reading of the letter of the lawful is correct, and the good of this world is attained, and the foundation for building the good of the Hereafter is established, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is the Guardian of success.