And when the situation required them to affirm what they had obligated upon themselves, He commanded eating after having forbidden leaving it. This is to gather on the permissibility of that command and the prohibition. So He said: ﴿And eat﴾; and He encouraged them in it by saying: ﴿Of what Allah has provided you﴾; meaning: the Greatest King, whose gift cannot be rejected.

And when provision can be of the unlawful, He constrained it after the constraint of partiality by saying: ﴿Lawful﴾; and when He - glorified and exalted is He - has made provision desirable, He described it (p-286) as a favor and encouragement by saying: ﴿Good﴾; and it may be a caution against what has a doubt in it, alerting to piety. The meaning of its goodness may be certainty of its permissibility, so that it is where the motives for consuming it are sufficient in religion, as they are sufficient for consuming what is the ultimate in pleasure, desire, and nature. And it should be something that removes what the soul finds repugnant from what has become corrupt among foods, so that it does not cause harm. Ibn al-Mubarak said: The lawful is what is taken from its source; and the good is what is nourished and cultivated. As for clay, solid substances, and what does not nourish, it is disliked unless for the purpose of healing. And it should be something that exceeds the limit of mere sustenance in a state of necessity. For this and similar reasons, He said: ﴿And fear Allah﴾; meaning: the King who has majesty and honor; from making unlawful what is lawful or declaring lawful what is unlawful. Then He described Him with what necessitates observing His covenants and adhering to His limits, saying: ﴿In whom you believe﴾; meaning: steadfast in faith in Him. For this description necessitates observing the covenants. He specifically mentioned eating; and the intended meaning is all that He has forbidden to be declared unlawful from the good things, for it is a cause for other enjoyments.