His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "O mankind, eat from what is in the earth, lawful and good, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a manifest enemy." "He only enjoins you to evil and immorality and to say about Allah what you do not know." "And when it is said to them, 'Follow what Allah has revealed,' they say, 'Rather, we will follow that upon which we found our forefathers.' Even if their forefathers understood nothing and were not guided?" "And the example of those who disbelieve is like that of one who shouts at what he does not hear except a call and a cry. Deaf, dumb, and blind, so they do not understand."

The address is general, and "what" means "that which," and "lawful" is an adjective for the pronoun referring back to "what." Al-Makki said: it is a description of a deleted object, the estimation of which is: something lawful, and this is unlikely. Likewise, the intent of the speech does not allow for "lawful" to be an object of "eat." Reflect on this.

And "good" is an adjective, and it is correct that "good" could be a state of the pronoun in "eat," the estimation of which is: being desirous. The good, according to Malik, is the lawful, so here it is an affirmation of the difference in wording. According to Al-Shafi'i, it is that which is pleasurable, and for this reason, it prohibits eating the filthy animal and everything that is vile.

And "footsteps" is the plural of "footstep," which is what is between the two feet in walking. The meaning is: the prohibition of following Satan and walking in his paths and ways. Ibn Abbas said: his footsteps are his deeds. Others said: his traces. Mujahid said: his sins. Abu Mijlaz said: they are the vows and disobediences. Al-Hasan said: it was revealed concerning what they instituted of the al-bahira and al-sayiba and similar things. Al-Naqqash said: it was revealed concerning Thaqif and Khuzā'ah and the Banu al-Harith ibn Kab.

And Ibn Amer and Al-Kisai read "footsteps" with a damma on the kha and ta. It was narrated from Asim and Ibn Kathir with a difference. The others read with a sukoon on the ta. Either they intended to pronounce the kha and ta with a damma and lightened it, as this is the norm in the plural of "fa'ila" like "ghurfah" and "ghurafat." Or they left it in the plural with its sukoon as in the singular. Abu al-Samal read "khatawat" with a fatha on the kha and ta. It was narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib, Qatadah, Al-Amash, and Salam: "khutuat" with a damma on the kha and ta and a hamzah on the waw, and this reading indicates that it is the plural of "khata'" from "khata'" not from "khatw."

And all that is besides the Sunnah and the Shari'ah from innovations and disobediences are the footsteps of Satan.

And "enemy" applies to the singular, dual, and plural.

And His saying, exalted is He: "He only enjoins you..." This verse is suitable for restriction, and it may come non-restrictive but rather for emphasis, like your saying: "Indeed, the brave is only Antarah." As if you are attempting to restrict or imply it. The meaning of "indeed" is known by the context of the speech in which it is found, so it is restrictive in this verse. And Satan enjoins either by his saying in the time of the soothsayers and where he is imagined, or by his whispering. So when he is obeyed, his command is executed.

'And 'al-sū' is a source from sā'a yasū, and it refers to sins and that which has a bad outcome. And 'al-fahshā' was said by al-Suddi to be zina, and it was said to be everything that reaches a limit of the limits, because it becomes outrageous at that point. It was also said to be that which is mentioned in an outrageous manner. The root of al-fuhsh is the ugliness of the appearance, as Imru' al-Qais said:

'And a neck like that of a gazelle is not outrageous if she reveals it, nor is it neglected.'

Then the term was used for that which is deemed reprehensible among meanings. And the law is what beautifies and vilifies; thus, everything that the law prohibits is from al-fahshā.

And 'what you do not know' means by it what they prohibited from al-bahīrah and al-sā'ibah and similar things, and they made it a law. And His saying, 'And when it is said to them,' refers to the disbelievers of the Arabs. Ibn Abbas said it was revealed about the Jews. Al-Tabari said the pronoun in 'to them' refers back to 'the people' from His saying, 'O mankind, eat.' And it was said it refers back to 'from' in His saying, 'And among the people are those who take others besides Allah as rivals.'

And 'follow' means by action and acceptance. And 'what Allah has revealed' is the Qur'an and the law. And 'we found' means we discovered, as the poet said:

'And I found him not seeking to be excused, nor remembering Allah except a little.'

And the 'alif' in His saying, 'Or if' is for questioning, and the 'wa' is for connecting one sentence to another, because the ultimate corruption in adherence is for them to say, 'We follow our forefathers even if they do not understand.' Thus, they confirmed their adherence to this, as this was the state of their forefathers.

And the strength of the words of this verse gives a refutation of imitation, and the community has agreed on its invalidation in beliefs.

And His saying, 'And the example of those who disbelieve,' the verse intends to liken the preacher of the disbelievers and their callers, and the disbelievers who are being admonished, to a shepherd who calls to sheep or camels, and they hear only his call and do not understand what he says. Thus Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, al-Suddi, and Sibawayh explained it. Some mentioned part of this sentence and some of that, and the mentioned indicates the omitted, and this is the end of brevity.

And 'al-na'iq' is the calling of the sheep and shouting at them, as al-Akhtal said:

'Call to your sheep, O Jarir, for indeed your soul has led you astray in the wilderness.'

And some said this comparison to the shepherd of sheep is because they are among the dullest of animals, and they make their shepherd foolish. And in the proverb, 'more foolish than a shepherd of eighty sheep.'

And Duraid said to Malik ibn Awf on the day of Hawazin, 'A shepherd of sheep, by Allah.' And the poet said:

'I have become a mockery for the shepherd of sheep who mocks me; what troubles you about me, O shepherd of sheep?'

So the meaning of the verse is that these disbelievers hear the call passing by their ears, they hear it but do not understand it, as they do not benefit from its understanding.

And Ibn Zayd said the meaning in the verse is: 'And the example of those who disbelieve in their following their deities and worshiping them is like that of one who calls out to that which he hears nothing from except a sound that is not beneficial,' meaning by that the echo that responds from the mountains.

And the view of Al-Tabari regarding the verse has another meaning, which is that the intended meaning is: and the example of the disbelievers in their worship of their deities is like the example of one who calls out to something far away from him. He does not hear because of the distance. So, for the caller, there is nothing from that except the call that tires him and exhausts him. Thus, he compared in these two interpretations the disbelievers to the caller, and the idols to that which is called. They are likened in their deafness, dumbness, and blindness to one who has no senses, because they do not benefit from their senses, nor do they use them to perceive what they should. Among them is the saying of the poet:

...................................... ∗∗∗ Deaf to what harms him is the one who hears.

And when it is established that they lack these senses, it concludes that they do not understand, for understanding - as Abu al-Ma'ali and others have said - is essential knowledge that these senses provide. There must be the senses in acquiring it. Reflect.