His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, nor send it [in bribery] to the rulers, so that [they might aid] you [to] consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know [it is unlawful].﴾

﴿They ask you about the new moons. Say, 'They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj. And it is not righteousness to enter houses from their backs; but righteousness is in one who fears Allah. And enter houses through their doors. And fear Allah that you may succeed.'﴾

﴿And fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.﴾

The address is to the Ummah of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and the meaning is: Do not consume one another's wealth. The wealth is attributed to the pronoun of the prohibited because each one is prohibited from it, just as Allah, exalted is He, said: ﴿You kill yourselves.﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 85].

Included in this verse are gambling, deception, usurpation, denial of truths, and other than that. However, it does not include overreaching in sales when the seller knows the reality of what he is selling, because overreaching is as if he has gifted it.

Some people said: The intended meaning of the verse ﴿And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly﴾ is in amusements, singing girls, drinks, and idleness, so the addition of wealth is to the pronoun of the owners.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And send it [in bribery] to the rulers﴾, it is said: A man sends forth the argument or the matter by which he hopes for success, likening it to one who sends the bucket into the well hoping for water.

Some said: The meaning of the verse is: You hasten to the wealth for the dispute when you know that the argument is established for you, either because there is no evidence against the denier, or it is a trust, like that of an orphan and the like, in which the saying is his saying. Thus, the 'ba' in 'in it' is the ba of reason.

And it was said that the meaning of the verse is: You bribe with it to consume more than it, so the ba is the attachment of mere. This saying is favored because the rulers are a place of suspicion for bribery, except for those who are protected, and that is the least. Also, the two words are compatible, 'send' from sending the bucket, and 'bribery' from the bribe, as if it is extended by it to fulfill the need.

And 'send' is in a position of jasm, connected to 'consume', and in the Mushaf of Ubayy, it is written: 'And do not send' with the repetition of the negation particle, and this reading supports the jasm of 'send' in the reading of the congregation.

And it was said: 'send' is in a position of nasb for the circumstance, and this is a Kufi opinion, that the meaning of the circumstance is the one that is nasb, and that which is nasb in such a case according to Sibawayh is 'that' implied.

And 'the portion' means: the piece and the part, and 'in sin' means: in injustice and transgression, and it is called sin because sin is a meaning that relates to its doer. ﴿And you know [it is unlawful].﴾ means: Indeed, you are invalidating and sinful, and this is an exaggeration in disobedience and audacity.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿They ask you about the new moons﴾, Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Al-Rabi, and others said: This was revealed in response to a question from a group of Muslims to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, about the crescent moon. And what is the benefit of its newness and fullness and its difference from the state of the sun?

And gathering is one in reality in terms of its being a crescent in one month, not being a crescent in another. So, the gathering of its states is from the crescent phases. The crescent lasts for two nights without disagreement, then it becomes full. It is said: three nights. Al-Asma'i said: it is a crescent until it becomes full and turns around like a thin thread. It is said: it is a crescent until its light dazzles the sky, and that is on the night of the seventh.

And His saying: "Mawāqīt" means: for the place of debts and the end of the count and the rents, and similar matters of the interests of the servants. The mawāqīt of Hajj is also known by it, its time and its months.

And "Mawāqīt" does not decline, because it is a plural that has no equivalent in the singular. It is a gathering and the end of a gathering, as it is not gathered. Ibn Abi Ishaq read: "and the Hajj" with a kasra on the ح in all of the Qur'an. And in His saying: ﴿Hajj al-Bayt﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 158] in Al-Imran, Sibawayh said: Hajj is like returning and tightening, and Hajj is like mentioning; they are both nouns with the same meaning. It is said: the opening is a noun, and the kasra is the name.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And righteousness is not﴾, the verse, Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, Al-Zuhri, and Qatadah said: Its reason is that the Ansar, when they performed Hajj or Umrah, adhered to the practice that nothing should come between them and the sky. They would climb the roofs of their houses onto the walls. It is said: they would make openings in the backs of their houses to enter through them, and they would not enter through the doors. It is said that there are other similar matters, so I have summarized it. A man from them came and entered through the door of his house, and he was reproached for that, so the verse was revealed.

And Ibrahim said: He used to do what a group from the people of Hijaz mentioned. And Al-Suddi said: "A people from the Arabs, and they are those who are called Al-Hums." He said: The Prophet ﷺ entered a door and with him was a man from them. That man stood and said: "I am a Hums." The Prophet ﷺ said to him: "And I am a Hums." Then the verse was revealed." And Al-Rabi' narrated: "The Prophet ﷺ entered and behind him was a man from the Ansar. He entered and broke the custom of his people. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: 'Why did you enter while you are in a state of Ihram?' He said: 'You entered, so I entered with your entry.' The Prophet ﷺ said to him: 'I am a Hums,' meaning from a people who do not adhere to that. The man said: 'And my religion is your religion.' Then the verse was revealed." And Abu Ubaidah said: The verse is a parable, meaning: It is not righteousness that you ask the ignorant, but fear [Allah] and ask the scholars. This is like saying: I came to this matter from its door. And others besides Abu Ubaidah said: The meaning is: Righteousness is not that you stray in the questions about the moons and others, so you come to matters in a way that is not appropriate. This is possible, and the first is more precise. As for what Al-Mahdawi and Makki narrated from Ibn Al-Anbari that the verse is a parable regarding the gathering of women, it is far and alters the style of the speech. Ibn Kathir, Ibn Amir, Al-Kisai, and Nafi' read differently from him: "the houses" with a kasra on the ba. Some of the reciters read: "But righteousness" with a shaddah on the noon of "but" and the accusative of "righteousness." The saying regarding "who" in His saying: ﴿Whoever believes in Allah﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 177] has been previously mentioned. And "and fear [Allah]" means: Make between you and His punishment a protection, and "that perhaps you" is a hope in the right of mankind, and success is attaining the goal.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And fight in the way of Allah﴾, this verse is the first verse revealed regarding the command to fight. Ibn Zayd and Al-Rabi' said: Its meaning is: Fight those who fight you, and refrain from those who refrain from you, and do not transgress in fighting those who do not fight you. This truce is abrogated by the verse of Bara'ah and by His saying: ﴿And fight the polytheists all together﴾ [At-Tawbah: 36].

And Ibn Abbas, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, and Mujahid said: The meaning of the verse is: Fight those who are in a state of fighting you, and do not transgress in killing women, children, monks, and those similar to them. It is firmly established upon this saying. And some said: The meaning is: Do not transgress in fighting for other than the sake of Allah, like for pride or for gaining reputation.