His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "There is nothing upon the Messenger except the conveying, and Allah knows what you reveal and what you conceal." "Say: The evil and the good are not equal, even if the abundance of the evil impresses you. So fear Allah, O people of understanding, that you may succeed." "O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be made clear to you. Allah has pardoned that, and Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing." "A people asked about them before you, then they became disbelievers in them."

His saying, the Most High: "There is nothing upon the Messenger except the conveying"; this is a notification to the believers. It cannot be imagined that it is said: it is an abrogated verse by the verses of fighting; rather, this is the state of one who has believed and witnessed the testimony of truth. For he has indeed protected his wealth and blood from the Messenger; thus, there is nothing upon the Messenger in his regard more than conveying. And Allah, the Most High, after that, knows what his heart conceals; and He is the One who rewards - according to that - with reward or punishment.

And conveying is a source from: "He conveyed; he conveys"; and the meaning of the verse is a warning to the believers if they deviate and do not comply with what has been conveyed to them.

And His saying: "Say: The evil and the good are not equal"; the verse is a general term in all matters. It can be imagined in earnings, the number of people, and knowledge, from sciences and the like. The evil from all of this will not succeed, nor will it be fruitful, nor will a good outcome be for it; and the good - even if it is little - is beneficial and has a beautiful outcome.

This verse is similar to His saying, the Most High: "And the good land - its vegetation comes forth by permission of its Lord; and that which is vile does not come forth except as a little." [Al-A'raf: 58]; and the vileness is the inner corruption in things, until it is thought to be righteous; and the good is contrary to that. And thus is vileness in a person; and it may be intended by the word "evil" in a person, the corruption of his lineage; and this word obliges its speaker - on this intent - to a limit.

And His saying, the Most High: "So fear Allah, O people of understanding"; this is a reminder of the necessity of the good in belief and action. And He specifically mentioned the people of understanding because they are the foremost in distinguishing these matters; and it is not appropriate for them to neglect them with their understanding and perception. And it is as if the reference with this understanding is to the core of experience, which exceeds the core of obligation, with wisdom and insightful perception and distant consideration.

And His saying, the Most High: "O you who have believed, do not ask about things"; the verse; the narrators differed regarding its reason. A group - among them Anas ibn Malik and others - said: It was revealed due to the question of Abdullah ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi; and that is when the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - ascended the pulpit angry and said: "Do not ask me today about anything except that I will inform you about it." Then a man stood and said: Where am I? The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "In the Fire." Then Abdullah ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi, who was being questioned about his lineage, stood and said: Who is my father? He said: "Your father is Hudhafa."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: In the hadith, of what Al-Tabari did not mention: "Then another stood up and said: Who is my father? He said: 'Your father is Salim, the freedman of Abu Shaybah'; then Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - stood up and knelt on his knees and said: We are pleased with Allah as our Lord, and with Islam as our religion, and with Muhammad as our Prophet; we seek refuge with Allah from trials; and the people cried from the anger of the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him -; and this verse was revealed because of these questions."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - ascending the pulpit in anger was due to the questions of the Bedouins, the ignorant, and the hypocrites; among them were those who said: Where is my she-camel? And another said: What did I leave behind on this journey? And similar to this, which is ignorance or mockery and provocation.

Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Hurairah, Abu Umamah al-Bahili, and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them all - in their wording have differences, but the meaning is one: "The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - addressed the people and said: 'O people, Hajj has been prescribed for you.' And he recited to them: ﴿And pilgrimage to the House is a duty to Allah for mankind, for whoever is able to undertake it﴾ [Al-Imran: 97]; Ali - may Allah be pleased with him - said: Then they said: O Messenger of Allah, is it every year? He was silent, and they repeated the question; he said: 'No; if I had said yes, it would have been obligatory.'" And Abu Hurairah said: Then 'Ukashah ibn Mihsan said; and Murrah said: Mihsan al-Asadi said; and others said: A man from Banu Asad stood up; and some of them said: "Then a Bedouin stood up and said: O Messenger of Allah, is it every year? The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - was silent; then he said: 'Who is the questioner?' It was said: So-and-so; then the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said: 'If I had said yes, it would have been obligatory; and if it had been obligatory, you would not have been able to do it; and if you had abandoned it, you would have perished.' Then this verse was revealed because of that.

This is supported by the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas that the Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him - said: "The greatest of Muslims against Muslims in sin is the one who asks about something that has not been prohibited and it becomes prohibited because of his question."

It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: The verse was revealed because of a people who asked about al-Bahira, al-Sa'iba, and al-Wasila, and similar matters from the rulings of ignorance; and this was also said by Sa'id ibn Jubair.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: It has been narrated that when Allah, the Exalted, clarified in these verses the matter of the Kaaba, the sacrificial animals, and the necklaces, and informed that its sanctity is what He has established; since these are beneficial matters, ancient, from the time of the covenant of Ibrahim - peace be upon him - some of the Arabs went to inquire about the other rulings of the pre-Islamic period; to see whether they could be included with those or not; since they believed all of them to be a tradition; they did not differentiate between what is from Allah and what is from the devil; and the ones who altered the religion of Ibrahim and Ismail - peace be upon them - like Amr ibn Luhayy and others. Concerning Amr ibn Luhayy, the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "I saw him dragging his intestines in the fire; and he was the first to set free the sacrificial animals."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The apparent meaning from the narrations is that the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - was pressed by the Bedouins and the ignorant with various types of questions; as we have mentioned; so Allah, the Exalted, forbade that with this verse.

And "things": is a plural noun for "thing"; its origin according to Al-Khalil and Sibawayh is "shay'aa"; like "fa'laa"; it was transformed into "laf'aa" due to the difficulty of the meeting of the two hamzah letters; and Abu Hatim said: "ashya'" is of the form "af'aal"; and it is the plural of "shay'"; and leaving it uninflected is a hearing; and Al-Kisai said: "ashya'" does not inflect; due to its last letter resembling the last letter of "hamraa"; and due to its frequent usage; and the Arabs say: "ashyaawat"; just as they say: "hamraawat"; and it follows from this that "asma'" should not inflect; because they say: "asmaawat"; and Al-Akhfash said: "ashya'" originally is "ashiy'aa"; on the pattern of "af'ila"; the meeting of the two hamzah letters was made difficult; so the first was replaced with a ya due to the weakening of what precedes it; then (p-273) the ya was removed for ease; and it follows from this that the singular of "ashya'" is "shay'"; like "hayyin"; and "ahwinaa".

And the majority of the people read: "In tubda"; with the ta being pronounced with a dammah; and the dal with a fathah; and the verb is constructed for the object; and Mujahid read: "In tabda"; with the ta being pronounced with a fathah; and the dal with a dammah; on the construction of the verb for the subject; and Al-Sha'bi read: "In yabdu lakum"; with the ya from below; open; and the dal is pronounced with a dammah; "yasu'kum"; with the ya from below; meaning: "Allah will make it clear to you."

And His saying, the Exalted: "And if you ask about it when the Quran is revealed, it will be made clear to you"; Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - said: Its meaning is: "Do not ask about things in the context of the news about them, as it may be a burden upon you; either due to a legal obligation that you will be required to fulfill; or due to news that will sadden you; as was said to the one who asked: Where am I? But when the Quran is revealed with something and your Lord begins with a command; then at that time, if you ask about its details and clarification, it will be made clear to you and will be shown."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The pronoun in His saying: "about it" refers to its type; not to the first one which He forbade asking about.

Abu Thalabah al-Khushani - may Allah be pleased with him - said: "Indeed, Allah has prescribed obligations; so do not neglect them; and He has forbidden certain things; so do not violate them; and He has set limits; so do not transgress them; and He has pardoned certain things without forgetfulness; so do not seek them out."

And Ubaid ibn Umayr used to say: "Indeed, Allah has permitted; and forbidden; so what He has permitted, you may consume; and what He has forbidden, avoid; and He has left between that certain things that He neither permitted nor forbade; so that is a pardon from Allah that He has granted." Then he recited this verse.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: "And His saying, the Exalted: 'And if you ask about it when the Qur'an is revealed, it will be made clear to you'; it may be in the meaning of warning; as if He said: 'Do not ask; and if you ask, you will face the burden of that; and its difficulty; because you are seeking and hastening to know what will distress you; like the one who was told: 'Indeed, he is in the Fire.'"

And His saying, the Exalted: 'Allah has pardoned it'; means He has left it; and has not informed about it; and this term 'pardoned' supports that the matters which are in the obligations of the Shari'ah are looked at in the saying of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him -: "Indeed, Allah has pardoned you regarding the charity of horses."

"The Most Forgiving, the Most Forbearing"; are two attributes that correspond with pardon; and leaving discussion; and generosity in matters.

And the majority of the people read: "Indeed, they asked it"; with the opening of the 's' (س); and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i read: "Indeed, they asked it"; with the breaking of the 's' (س); and the intended meaning of this reading is the inclination; and that is according to the language of those who said: "You asked; you inquire"; and it has been reported from the Arabs: "They are equal in asking"; so this indicates that this language is from the 'waw' (و), not from the hamzah (ء); for the inclination was intended; and that was permissible due to the breaking of what precedes the 'l' in "you asked"; just as the inclination occurred in "feared"; due to the presence of the kasrah in the 'kh' of "you feared".

And the meaning of the verse is that these questions which are inquiries; and requests for excess; and proposals; and discussions; have been asked by nations before you; then they disbelieved in them; as al-Tabari said: like the people of Salih in their asking about the she-camel; and like the Children of Israel in their asking about the table spread; as al-Suddi said: like the question of Quraysh to make for them the Safa gold.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: "And the example of Quraysh is directed in their asking for a sign; so when the moon was split for them, they disbelieved; and this meaning is said for the one who asked the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him -: 'Where is my she-camel?' And as the Bedouin asked him: 'What is in the belly of this she-camel?' But as for the one who asked him about Hajj: 'Is it every year?' then His saying, the Exalted: 'Indeed, they asked it' - the verse - should not be interpreted in this way; nor like it; but rather that the nations of old sought to delve deeply into the religion from their Prophets; then they did not fulfill what they were obligated to.