And when it was made clear that what they prohibited is not forbidden, this became firmly established, removing from the souls what they had become accustomed to from its opposite. It erased from the hearts what they had absorbed of its contrary. It was as if it were said: So what has Allah forbidden that the prohibition is only towards Him? So He commanded, glorified and exalted is He, that he should answer them about that and add that He has not forbidden anything else. He said: "Say, indeed my Lord has forbidden..." meaning: the One who has been gracious to me by making my religion the best of religions. "The immoral acts" meaning: every individual act of them, and it is what increases in its ugliness. And when the immoral act is what increases in its ugliness, it might be thought that concealing it is not intended by the prohibition. He said: "What is apparent of it" among the people, "and what is concealed."

And when this was specific to what has a great disgrace, He said: "And sin" meaning: the general wrongdoing that necessitates punishment, for indeed sin is wrongdoing and punishment. And when oppression is an increase in ugliness, specified by the fact that it is among the quickest of sins in punishment, He mentioned it specifically and said: "And oppression" which is the act of rising above others unjustly. However, since it might be used for the general act of seeking, He clarified its meaning by the legal custom and said: "Without right" meaning: the complete right that has no trace of falsehood in it. Whenever there is a trace of falsehood in it, it is oppression. And perhaps it removes the elevation by the right through seeking justice from the oppressor, for it is a complete right. And its naming as oppression, by way of resemblance, serves as a deterrent—by placing it under the name of oppression—against engaging in it and urging forgiveness, as has been previously mentioned in "Indeed Allah does not like the public mention of evil except for one who has been wronged." [An-Nisa: 148] And it may be that its restriction is an emphasis on its prohibition by the fact that it cannot be conceived except as being described as without right, as He said, specifying and stating to highlight the severity of the disgrace: "And that you associate with Allah..." meaning: the One who is characterized by attributes of perfection, "that for which He has not sent down any authority." For indeed, there is nothing that anyone calls a partner except that it is something for which Allah has not sent down any authority, nor is there any proof in reality or evidence. And perhaps He restricted it by that as guidance to the fact that the foundations of religion cannot be relied upon except by something conclusive. So how about the greatest of them, which is monotheism! And for that reason, He followed it with His saying: "And that..." meaning: and He has forbidden that "you say about Allah..." meaning: the One who is greater than anything and has no equal to Him, "what you do not know" meaning: what you do not have knowledge of regarding its specifics, nor is it based on knowledge that is more general than being from the fundamentals or not.