His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "And upon those who were Jews, We prohibited every [animal] with claws, and of the cattle and sheep, We prohibited their fats, except what carries [the fat] on their backs or the intestines or what is mixed with bone. That is a recompense We gave them for their transgression, and indeed, We are truthful." (p-483) When Allah - glorified and exalted is He - mentioned what He prohibited for the Ummah of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - He followed that by mentioning what He prohibited for the Jews; for in that is a refutation of their saying: "Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, did not prohibit anything upon us; rather, we prohibited upon ourselves what Israel prohibited upon himself." And the saying regarding "those who were Jews" has been previously mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah, and the meaning of their being called "Jews." And "every [animal] with claws" refers to camels, ostriches, geese, and similar animals that do not have split toes and have claws. Abu Zayd said: "The intended meaning is specifically camels." This is a weak specification. Al-Naqqash mentioned from Tha'alab that everything that does not hunt is clawed, and what hunts has talons. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is not consistent; for the lion has claws. The majority of the people read "claws" with a dammah on the dhāl and fāʾ. Al-Hasan and Al-A'rāj read "claw" with a sukoon on the fāʾ. Abu Al-Sammal and Qan'ab read "claw" with a kasrah on the dhāl and sukoon on the fāʾ. And Allah - glorified and exalted is He - informed us in this verse of the prohibition of fats upon the Children of Israel; and they are: the suet, the kidneys, and what is pure fat, excluding the exceptions mentioned in the verse. And the scholars differed regarding the prohibition of that for Muslims from the slaughter of the Jews. Ibn Al-Mundhir narrated in "Al-Ashraf" from Malik and others that he prohibited eating the fat from the slaughter of the Jews; and this is evident in "Al-Mudawwanah." Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is based on the saying of Him - glorified and exalted is He -: "And the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you" [Al-Ma'idah: 5]; that it is the food from their slaughter. As for what is not lawful for them, then it does not have a slaughter; rather, it is like blood in the slaughter of Muslims. And upon this saying comes the statement of Malik - may Allah have mercy on him - in "Al-Mudawwanah" regarding what a Jew slaughtered from what is not lawful for them, like the camel and the rabbit: that it is not eaten. (p-484) It has been narrated from Malik - may Allah have mercy on him - that he disliked fat from the slaughter of the People of the Book, without prohibition; and some people permitted fat from the slaughter of the People of the Book and their slaughter of what is prohibited for them if a Muslim commanded them to do so. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is on the condition that His saying - the Exalted - "And the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you" [Al-Ma'idah: 5] is intended to mean the slaughter; so whenever the slaughter occurs in its manner, the permissibility occurs. And this is a weak statement; for it has stripped the term "food" of the meaning of being "food" for the People of the Book, and has confined it to the meaning of slaughter; and that is a hardship that cannot be justified.

As for the path, it was prohibited by some people; and disliked by others; and permitted by some; and Malik made it lawful in 'Al-Mudawwana'; then he returned to prohibiting it; and Ibn Habib said: What was prohibited for them; and we know that from our Book; so it is not lawful for us from their sacrifices.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿Except what their backs carry﴾; means what is mixed with the flesh; in the back; and the sides; and similar to that; Al-Suddi and Abu Salih said: The 'al-yat' are from what their backs carry; 'or the hawaya'; he said: it is the plural of 'hawiya'; on the pattern of 'fa'ila'; so the pattern of 'hawaya' is: 'fa'ail'; like 'safina' and 'safain'; and it is said: it is the plural of 'hawiya'; on the pattern of 'fa'ila'; so 'hawaya' on this: 'fa'ail'; like 'dariba' and 'darib'; and it is said: the plural of 'hawiya'; its pattern is also: 'fa'ail'; like 'qas'ia' and 'qawas'; and as for 'hawaya' on the first pattern; its root is 'hawai'; so the last yā was changed to an alif; and thus the hamzah opened; then it was replaced with a yā; and as for on the last two patterns; the root of 'hawaya' is 'hawawiya'; and the second waw was replaced with a hamzah; and 'al-hawiya': what is contained in the belly; and turned; and it refers to the intestines; and the stuffing; and similar to them; and Mujahid, Qatadah, Ibn Abbas, Al-Suddi, and Ibn Zayd said: 'al-hawaya': the excretions; and some of them said: it is the places where the intestines are; and they are the daughters of milk.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿Or what is mixed with bone﴾; means in all individuals.

And 'al-hawaya' is conjoined to 'what'; in His saying, the Exalted, ﴿Except what they carry﴾; so it is in the position of being accusative; conjoined to what is specified by the exception; and Al-Kisai said: 'al-hawaya' is conjoined to 'the backs'; as if he said: 'except what their backs carry; or what the hawaya carries'; and some people said: 'al-hawaya' is conjoined to 'the fats'.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And on this, 'al-hawaya' enters into the prohibition; and this saying is not supported by the wording; nor the meaning; rather they both refute it.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿That is what We recompensed them for their transgression﴾; 'That' is in the position of being nominative; and ﴿We recompensed them for their transgression﴾; implies that this prohibition was indeed a punishment for them for their sins; and their transgression; and their obstinacy against the prophets; and His saying, the Exalted, 'And indeed we are truthful'; is a statement that includes an insinuation of their lying in their saying: 'Allah has not prohibited anything for us; but we only followed Israel in what he prohibited for himself'; and it includes the refutation of their saying; and a rebuttal to them.