And when they had asked about the state of the righteous souls at the time of the revelation of the verse; those who look to piety; who are motivated to ask about it; and he who died among them while doing it; he said - in response to that question -: "There is no blame upon those who have believed and done righteous deeds"; meaning: confirming their faith; "the righteous are not to be blamed"; so He clarified - glorified and exalted is He - that this question is not relevant; because they were not prohibited from them; and they were believers; doing righteous deeds; and being cautious of what angers the Lord from the prohibited things; and the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - clarified this in what was narrated by Imam Ahmad; "from Abu Huraira - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: Wine was prohibited three times: The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - came to Medina while they were drinking wine; and eating from gambling; so they asked the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - about that; (p-296) then Allah (the Exalted) revealed to His Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - "They ask you about wine and gambling" [Al-Baqarah: 219]; so the people said: He did not prohibit it for us; he only said: 'Indeed, there is sin in them'; and they were drinking wine until one day a man from the emigrants prayed the Maghrib prayer; and he mixed up in his recitation; then Allah (the Exalted) revealed: "O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated" [An-Nisa: 43]; so they were drinking it until one of them came to the prayer while he was sober; then it was revealed: "O you who have believed, indeed, wine, gambling, stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan" [Al-Ma'idah: 90]; so they said: We have stopped, O Lord; and the people said: O Messenger of Allah; some people were killed in the cause of Allah; or died on their beds; they were drinking wine; and eating from gambling; and Allah made it an abomination from the work of Satan; then Allah revealed: "There is no blame upon those who have believed and done righteous deeds"; then the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "If it had been prohibited to them, they would have left it as you have left it";" And the fact that it is narrated by Abu Ma'shar, who is weak, does not harm it; because it is consistent with the principles of religion; and both Shaykhs narrated from Anas - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: I was the one serving the people on the day wine was prohibited in the house of Abu Talhah - may Allah be pleased with him -; and their drink was nothing but the fresh dates; and when a caller called out: 'Indeed, wine has been prohibited'; Abu Talhah - may Allah be pleased with him - said to me: Go out and pour it out; (p-297) so I poured it out; and some of the people said: So-and-so and so-and-so were killed while it was in their bellies; then Allah (the Exalted) revealed: "There is no blame upon those who have believed and done righteous deeds"; and if this reason had not occurred, the relevance would still be present; and that is because when He (the Exalted) permitted the good of food; and prohibited the bad of drink; He negated the blame from whoever eats what He has permitted; or drinks other than what He has prohibited; so He came with a phrase that encompasses both food and drink; and He said: "in what they have eaten"; meaning: whether it was food; or drink; and He conditioned that upon them with piety; to exclude the prohibited things; so He said: "if they were to be cautious"; meaning: they fulfill all the piety that is required of them; so they do not eat anything prohibited.

And when he began with piety; which is the fear of Allah; that drives one away from the prohibited; he mentioned its foundation which is not accepted except by it; he said: ﴿And they believed﴾. And when he mentioned the acknowledgment by the tongue; he mentioned its proof; he said: ﴿And they acted﴾; meaning: by what their striving in knowledge led them to; not by mere agreement; ﴿The righteous then feared﴾; meaning: they avoided what had newly been prohibited to them; ﴿And they believed﴾; meaning: that it is from Allah; and that Allah has the authority to erase what He wills; and to affirm what He wills; and thus whenever the prohibition of something was repeated that they used to engage in.

And when he had negated the sin fundamentally and essentially; he conditioned the goodness; he said: ﴿Then fear and do good﴾; meaning: they adhered to piety; until it brought them to the station of vigilance; which is being free from the sight of others than Allah; and he understood that whoever does not reach the rank of goodness does not prevent that he may have a sin alongside piety; and faith; which is expiated for him by calamities; and misfortunes; until he attains what has been decreed for him of what his deeds did not reach of the ranks of Paradise; and what indicates the preciousness of piety and its honor is that he - glorified and exalted is He - when He conditioned it in this generality; He urged it when mentioning food specifically - as has been mentioned - he said: ﴿And fear Allah in whom you believe﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 88]. And this is in the utmost encouragement for abstaining in food; and drink; and an indication that one cannot reach the station of goodness except by it; and Allah is the one who grants success; and when the decree was: 'Indeed, Allah loves the pious believers'; he added to it His saying: ﴿And Allah﴾; meaning: the One who has the attributes of perfection; ﴿Loves the doers of good﴾.