﴿And do not mix﴾ and mixing is the display of something in a form other than its own. Among it is clothing, which conceals the body parts so that their form does not become apparent. Al-Harali said: ﴿The truth﴾ means what you acknowledge to be true according to what is in the Torah and the Gospel, which you have no intention of altering ﴿with falsehood﴾ from what you distort of them. The truth, Al-Harali said, is what is established and remains until its opposite fades away. So every pair is established as truth, and its negation is falsehood. That truth is such that the duration of its falsehood is short compared to the long duration of its established pair. This is the end. And since mixing can differ from concealment in that a person may ask about something and display it mixed with something else, or conceal it while knowing it, he said: ﴿And you conceal the truth﴾ that is, from those who do not know it ﴿while you know﴾ that is, you are obligated to know. Al-Harali took this at face value and said: When Allah, the Exalted, commanded them to fulfill the covenant, He prohibited them from bad deeds and from mixing the matter before their followers from their religion and from those who sought guidance from the Arabs. They mixed by following them the truth of faith in Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, and the Torah with the falsehood of what they abbreviated from their book regarding the affirmation of faith in Muhammad ﷺ and the Qur'an. They concealed the complete and comprehensive truth and mixed the past known truth with the extreme falsehood. Because the falsehood of the complete truth is an excessive and deep falsehood according to its opposite. And He made them aware that this is among them concealing a testimony against themselves with their knowledge of that, for understanding. Then He followed it with a testimony against them with knowledge explicitly. This is the end.

And in this verse is the greatest deterrent for the People of the Book from what they have shown of obstinacy. And from the kindness of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is the deterrence of the hard-hearted and distant, and the prohibition of the disobedient and anxious, to what is less than that, from the admonition of the heedless and the increase of the complete. Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Harali said in the Book of al-‘Urwah: The purpose of revealing this letter - meaning the letter of prohibition - is to stop the creation from what destroys them in their Hereafter and from what takes them away from safety in their death and resurrection, from what they are pleased with and feel secure about and prefer from their worldly affairs. So its direction is for the one who is secure in his worldly life, turning away from his call, to avoid what he is upon, which is called deterrence. And its direction is for the one who is looking around, feeling some deficiency in what he is upon, which is called prohibition. And they both converge in one meaning and one purpose, except that they differ. Therefore, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, repeated them both on the comprehensive meaning in this hadith, meaning the one mentioned at the beginning of Al-Baqarah. The first of them is the deterrence in the beginning of the revelation because Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, sent him when clear misguidance had ended among the creation, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, looked at all the people of the earth and found them detestable, both their Arabs and non-Arabs, except for remnants of the People of the Book, as has been reported in the authentic hadith in both chain and text. Therefore, the first place of the message was Surah "O you who is wrapped up" [Al-Muddathir: 1] "Arise and warn" [Al-Muddathir: 2] "And magnify your Lord" [Al-Muddathir: 3] "And purify your garments" [Al-Muddathir: 4] "And avoid uncleanliness" [Al-Muddathir: 5]. And it is the first of the warnings of the matter, just as the suddenness of the Hour is the first of the warnings of creation. Therefore, their thoughts are intertwined in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "So when the horn is blown" [Al-Muddathir: 8] "Then that Day will be a difficult day" [Al-Muddathir: 9] "Upon the disbelievers, not easy" [Al-Muddathir: 10]. And for the one who is deterred, there are two states: either he flees at the deterrence out of wildness, as He, glorified and exalted is He, said: "As if they were wild donkeys" [Al-Muddathir: 50] "Fleeing from a lion" [Al-Muddathir: 51]. Or he turns away after thinking, out of arrogance, as He, glorified and exalted is He, said: "Then he looked" [Al-Muddathir: 21] "Then he frowned and scowled" [Al-Muddathir: 22] "Then he turned away and was arrogant" [Al-Muddathir: 23]. And perhaps he nearly sees but turns away. Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: But they are minds that their Creator has nearly overwhelmed. "I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant in the earth without right, and if they see every sign, they will not believe in them" [Al-A'raf: 146]. They were turned away from the signs of the heavenly truth as a punishment for their sin of arrogance towards the creation, while feeling the appearance of the sign of the joining of the wombs in its clarity. And every warning is for the two types of disbelievers: the fleeing and the turning away from this letter. And the completion of this meaning prohibits the one who is comfortable and besieged from the apparent and hidden evils that are harmful in the Hereafter, even if they are harmed by leaving them in the world, as in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And do not approach" in eating the wealth of the orphan, and fornication, and approaching the menstruating woman, to what is less than that from the prohibition of what they consider in their worldly affairs as wise, as in His saying: "And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly" [Al-Baqarah: 188] and "Do not consume usury, doubling and multiplying" [Al-Imran: 130] "And do not spy, and do not backbite one another" [Al-Hujurat: 12] and "Let not a people ridicule another people" [Al-Hujurat: 11]. And what is related to this category - to what is less than that, in the continuity of the difference from the prohibition of bad interpretation for the sake of the desire of the self, as in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And do not say to the one who has greeted you, 'You are not a believer,' seeking the goods of worldly life" [An-Nisa: 94] - to what is less than that from the prohibition of what detracts from virtue, even if it is from the ruling of justice, as in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And let not those of virtue among you and abundance swear not to give to their relatives, the needy, and the emigrants in the cause of Allah" [An-Nur: 22] - to the completion of what safety cannot be achieved except by it from the prohibition of what exceeds sufficiency and what is enough in the world, by which the work is correct with wisdom, as in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And do not walk upon the earth in arrogance" [Al-Isra: 37] to His saying: "That is what your Lord has revealed to you of wisdom" [Al-Isra: 39] and to His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And do not extend your eyes toward that which We have given enjoyment to some of them, the splendor of the worldly life, to test them therein" [Ta-Ha: 131] because every excess over sufficiency is a trial. And this is the basis by which the degrees of knowledge in this world and the degrees of Paradise in the Hereafter differ. And the faces and letters that follow it, meaning all the other letters in knowledge, action, steadfastness, and acceptance at the time of scrutiny, are not valid except according to the precision in reading this letter and gathering it and clarifying it. Because it is the appearance of what follows it from the connections of the letter of command, and what has been deficient in the tens of sects of the nation to the deficiency in the letter of prohibition. Because the pure religion is based on sufficiency with a little of the commanded and excessive caution from the generality of what is not prohibited due to the many entrances of calamities from it upon the creation in what comes after death. And this letter is difficult for the creation due to what has settled in their imaginations that their world cannot be right except by persevering in the types of prohibitions, for they see its benefit in the world and are blinded to its consequences in the Hereafter. And what has been preserved of disciplines, educations, and refinements is only by fulfilling caution from them. And caution is the essence of the remedy. So whoever does not protect himself from the prohibited will not benefit from his remedies with the commanded, like one who seeks treatment but does not take precautions, he loses the remedy and the disease multiplies. "Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in deeds?" [Al-Kahf: 103] "Those whose efforts have gone astray in the worldly life while they think that they are doing good" [Al-Kahf: 104]. And they came with good deeds like mountains, and they used to fast and pray and take a little from the night, but that was treatment without caution, as they did not protect themselves from the worldly life that they were prohibited from its splendor. So when it appeared to them, they jumped upon it, and they would attain from it desires and commit sins, and their treatment did not benefit them. So whoever protects himself has read this letter, and that is enough for him. So read what is easy of it. The most beloved acts of worship to Allah are leaving the world and the caution of the self from the desires of its status and wealth. "Rather, a prophet and a servant" "I am hungry one day and full another day," "And whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me." And the Qur'an is a proof for whoever acts upon it, so it becomes his leader guiding him to Paradise. And it is a proof against whoever does not act upon it, so it becomes behind him driving him to the fire of the pit that is in the pit of Hell, from which Hell seeks refuge, and the pit and the valley are seven times every day. "But We have made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants" [Ash-Shura: 52] "He misleads by it many and guides by it many" [Al-Baqarah: 26] "And it increases the wrongdoers only in loss" [Al-Isra: 82] "I seek refuge in Your pardon from Your punishment, and in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and in You from You. I cannot enumerate Your praise; You are as You have praised Yourself."

Then he said regarding what is obtained by reading the letter of prohibition: Know that the one who fulfills the reading of the letters of what is lawful and unlawful, which have been revealed for the reform of worldly affairs and the improvement of the condition of the body and soul, will acquire a habit of goodness that facilitates for him the reading of the letters of the righteousness of the Hereafter concerning command and prohibition. When wisdom and knowledge necessitate the establishment of worldly affairs through the reading of its letters, faith in the unseen and the affirmation of the promise and warning require the trade of purchasing the promised unseen from the great share of the Hereafter with what the servant possesses of the tangible goods of this world. So, all that is lawful, except for what is just enough according to the Sunnah, is a trade for the servant. If he spends it, he profits from it and retains it, he will advance towards it. If he enjoys it, he will exhaust it and will regret it. 'So enjoy what you have earned, just as those before you enjoyed what they earned' [At-Tawbah: 69]. 'If only you would delay me to a near term so that I might give charity and be among the righteous' [Al-Munafiqun: 10]. 'You will not attain righteousness until you spend from what you love' [Al-Imran: 92]. That is a profitable wealth, that is a profitable wealth. Just as the letter of what is lawful is expansive to achieve gratitude, the letter of prohibition is constricted for the expansive letter of what is lawful to achieve patience, so that the servant may be grateful and patient. What is obtained by reading the letters of prohibition is either from the perspective of the heart and the vision of the heart, which is the witnessing of the insight of the promised reward, until it is as if he sees it, so that the soul may find comfort in its goodness and be alarmed by its evil. As Harithah said: 'I feel as if I see the people of Paradise in Paradise being given comfort, and the people of Hell in Hell being punished.' This bore fruit for him what he expressed about himself in his saying: 'My soul has turned away from this world, so its gold and its clay are equal to me.' Especially for the one who is supported by good tidings from righteous visions and truthful revelations, so that he leaves the transient for the everlasting with certainty and witnessing. Or it is from the perspective of the state of the soul, where patience is in restraining it from what it naturally desires of what is lawful for it according to the Shari'ah. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, when he lamented his state: 'Are you not pleased that they have this world and we have the Hereafter?' 'And seek help through patience' [Al-Baqarah: 45]. And the patience of the soul from its desires, even if they are lawful, is the essence of its purification. Killing it by indulging it in its desires is its life, and letting it roam in its desires is its corruption.

﴿Certainly, he has succeeded who purifies it﴾ [Ash-Shams: 9] ﴿And certainly, he has failed who instills it with corruption﴾ [Ash-Shams: 10] And the soul is a steed that is strengthened by its exertion, and weakened by its enjoyment. Its restraint from that is common in all permissible matters except in two cases: in women by the word of Allah, because they are of the same soul as men and are not other than them ﴿He it is who created you from one soul and made from it its mate that he might find comfort in her﴾ [Al-A'raf: 189] and ﴿And you have given one of them a qintar, then do not take anything from it﴾ [An-Nisa: 20]. The second is in perfume, because it is nourishment for the spirit, a strengthening for the senses, and a breath from the unseen realm to the visible kingdom. As for anything other than these, enjoying it and following the desires of the soul in it is a sign of denying the promise of the Most Merciful and affirming the promise of Satan ﴿And Satan beautified for them their deeds and turned them away from the path, so they are not guided﴾ [An-Naml: 24] ﴿He promises them and gives them false hopes, but Satan does not promise them except delusion﴾ [An-Nisa: 120]. This is from the perspective of the soul. As for the perspective of action and taking with the hand, raising it above what exceeds sufficiency and leaving it for those in need to take as a livelihood, and that wealth should not be from the means of trade that involves transport and striking the earth and hoarding for a time of need, not being a monopoly and constriction. Taking more than two garments for work and Friday is a sign of weak faith and contrary to the Sunnah, a deviation from the traces of Prophethood, and a departure from the Sunnah of the caliphs and abandoning the symbols of the righteous. Likewise, purifying the food and seeking the aesthetically pleasing in appearance without the aesthetically pleasing in knowledge, preferring the good in food over the good in piety, increasing the condiments and varying the foods. Likewise, taking more than one dwelling and more than one sufficient farm, and raising buildings and aspiring with structures. The Prophet ﷺ refrained from returning the greeting to a man who built a dome in the city until he demolished it and leveled it with the houses of the people of the city. Indeed, this world is a prison for the believer. If he feels it and constricts himself in it, he seeks release to the Hereafter and will be happy. If he does not feel that it is a prison and expands in it for himself seeking to remain in it, and it is not everlasting, then the horses are three: a reward for the struggler, a burden upon the boastful, and a pardon for the one who is content with it regarding his own affairs. And excess beyond sufficiency from the abundant blessings is a deviation from the traces of Prophethood, a constriction upon those in need, and a wealth for what has been designated for establishing a livelihood, and that sufficiency should be taken from it. The Prophet ﷺ said: "We have a hundred sheep that we do not want to increase. If the shepherd gives birth to a lamb, we slaughter a sheep in its place." "And food is not to be hoarded, and likewise what is taken for sustenance should not be hoarded except by one who is in error." "Whoever hoards food for forty days has disassociated himself from Allah, and Allah has disassociated Himself from him." The goods are brought and stored, and the dinar and dirham are invested in it. Food and sustenance are brought and not hoarded, so the dinar and dirham are invested in it. Whoever hoards it is investing in the dinar and dirham, and he has hoarded it. And what is prohibited in it from the measure of the eye, it is more likely to be prohibited in it from the measure of the hand ﴿Do not extend your eyes toward what We have given enjoyment to some of them﴾ [Al-Hijr: 88]. With these matters of the faith of the heart, the vision of the heart, the patience of the soul, and restraining the hand from extending in the wealth that sustains, the reading of the prohibition occurs, and Allah is the Guardian of support. The end.