(p-477) His saying - Mighty and Majestic -: ﴿And of the cattle are some for burden and some for food. Eat from what Allah has provided for you and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a manifest enemy﴾ ﴿Eight pairs of sheep, two, and of the goats, two. Say, 'Is the male for you and the female for the two females? Or were you witnesses when Allah enjoined you with this? Then bring your proof if you should be among the truthful﴾ "For burden"; it is connected to ﴿gardens with trellises﴾ [Al-An'am: 141]; and the meaning is: "And We created from the cattle some for burden"; and the burdened ones are those that carry loads from camels and cattle, according to those whose habit is to carry on them; and the 'h' in "for burden" is for emphasis; and Al-Tabari said: it is a plural name that has no singular form in its wording; and the 'for food' refers to those that do not carry a load, like sheep and young cattle and camels; this is what has been narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, and Ibn Abbas, and Al-Hasan, and others; it is called: "the food"; and "the bedding"; and some people have said that its naming as "for food" is due to its being trodden upon and that it is something that is used and can be acted upon; as its body is close to the ground. And it has been narrated from Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - that he said: the burdened ones are the camels, and horses, and mules, and donkeys; this was mentioned by Al-Tabari. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: and this is an interpretation of the same term; not in terms of its meaning in this verse; and it does not include in the verse anything other than the cattle; but it was specified in mention due to what the Arabs have legislated in it. And His saying - Exalted is He - ﴿from what Allah has provided for you﴾ is a clear statement of permissibility and the removal of what the disbelievers have legislated from the bahirah, and the sa'ibah, and other than that; then He followed the prohibition of those customs with His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿And do not follow the footsteps of Satan﴾; and it is the plural of "footstep"; meaning: "do not walk in his misleading paths"; and it has been previously mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah the difference of the reciters regarding "footsteps"; and among its rare readings is that of Ali - may Allah be pleased with him - and Al-A'raj, and Amr ibn Ubayd: "footsteps"; with the 'kh' and 'ta' being pronounced with a hamzah; Abu Al-Fath said: and that is the plural of "mistake"; from "the mistake"; and among the rare readings is that of Abu Al-Sammal: "footsteps"; with a 'waw' without a hamzah; and it is the plural of "footstep"; and it is the measure of what is between the feet of the walker; then He justified the prohibition of that by confirming the enmity of Satan towards the son of Adam. And His saying - Exalted is He - "eight"; there is a difference regarding its case; Al-Akhfash, Ali ibn Sulaiman said: with an implied verb; its meaning is: "Eat the meat of eight pairs..."; and the verb was omitted, and the added was removed, and the added to it took its place; and it was said it was established as a substitute for "what"; in His saying - Exalted is He - ﴿Eat from what Allah has provided for you﴾; and it was said: it was established as a state; and it was said: it was established as a substitute for His saying - Exalted is He - ﴿for burden and for food﴾; and this is the most correct of the statements; and it aligns with the meaning of the verse; and Al-Kisai said: he established it as "created"; and "the pair" is the male; and "the pair" is the female; each one of them is the pair of its companion; and there are four types; thus there come eight pairs.

'And the 'dhakhn' (sheep): is the plural of 'da'inah'; and 'da'in' (male sheep); and Talhah ibn Musarif; and 'Isa ibn Umar; and Al-Hasan read: 'min al-dh'an' (from the sheep); with the hamzah opened; and Nafi', and Asim, and Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: 'wa min al-ma'z' (and from the goats); with the 'ayn being silent; and it is the plural of 'ma'zin' (goat); and 'ma'zinah'; and Ibn Kathir, and Abu Amr, and Ibn Amer read: 'wa min al-ma'az' (and from the goats); with the 'ayn opened; so 'dh'an' and 'ma'zin' are like 'rakib' (rider) and 'rakb' (group of riders); and 'tajir' (merchant) and 'tajr' (merchants); and 'dh'an' and 'ma'zin' are like 'khadim' (servant) and 'khadam' (servants); and similar to it; and Aban ibn Uthman read: 'min al-dh'an ithnayn' (from the sheep two); on the subject of the beginning and the news being presented; and it is said in the plural of 'ma'zin': 'ma'zin', and 'ma'az', and 'ma'iz', and 'mi'za', and 'am'uz'.

And His saying, the Most High: 'Say, is it the two males?' This is a division against the disbelievers; so that their lying against Allah, the Most High, becomes clear; meaning: 'It must be that He has prohibited the two males; so you are required to prohibit all males; or the two females; so you are required to prohibit all females; or what the wombs of the two females encompass; so you are required to prohibit all; and you have not committed to anything that this division necessitates'; and in these questions is a confirmation and reproach.

Then He followed their confirmation and reproach with His saying, the Most High: 'Inform me'; tell me; 'with knowledge'; meaning: from the perspective of prophethood; or a book from the books of Allah, the Most High; 'if you are truthful'; and 'if' is a condition; and its response is in 'Inform me'; and it is permissible to precede the response to this condition; since 'if' does not appear to have an action in the past; and if it were apparent in action, the response would not have been permissible to precede.