Sibawayh mentioned the animals in the chapter on nouns that do not decline, which are derived from verbs, such as their saying: 'a garment of fine cloth.' Therefore, the pronoun returns to it in the singular. As for 'in their bellies' in Surah Al-Mu'minun, it is because its meaning is plural. It can be said regarding the animals that there are two opinions: one is that it is a plural form of the word 'n’am' [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN:n’am] like 'mountains' in 'mountain,' and the other is that it is a singular noun implying a plural meaning like 'n’am.' When it is mentioned, it is as if 'n’am' is mentioned in the saying: 'In every year, there is n’am that you gather... it is fertilized by a people and you produce it.' The owners of it are foolish, so they do not protect it, nor do they face any combat before it. The best of sons, you think it is... far, far from what you hope for. This is about a boy from Banu Asad named Qays ibn al-Husayn al-Harithi. And 'n’am' is a name that is treated like a singular. Its meaning may be considered, and it is treated like a plural. Sibawayh counted 'the animals' among the singular forms built on verbs, like 'character' and 'mixtures,' so it is treated with masculine gender sometimes considering its wording, and with feminine gender at other times considering its meaning. It was said that it is a plural of 'n’am' like 'causes' and 'cause,' and the speech expresses regret and sorrow in the form of news. It is possible to consider the interrogative hamzah as reproachful or surprising before 'in,' meaning: 'Is it in every year that you do that?' It was narrated: 'Every year,' with an interrogative. 'Every' is in the accusative case indicating time. It contains news about the time of the noun 'n’am.' Either because it resembles the meaning due to its renewal every year, as Ibn Malik and others said in its like, or on the assumption of an addition as the majority of the Basrians went, meaning: 'the spoiling of n’am.' The phrase 'that you gather' is an attribute of 'n’am,' and it may be that it is its news, and 'every year' is a circumstance for 'that you gather,' and it was brought forward because it is the focus of the question. Therefore, the justification for beginning with 'n’am' is its occurrence in the context of the question, or the presentation of the news's complement before it because it is like the presentation of the news. 'It is fertilized by a people' means they release its males on its females, so they become pregnant with them. 'And you produce it' means you give birth to it among you, a metaphor for taking it from them. 'The owners' means the companions. 'The foolish' is the plural of 'fool' like 'fools' is the plural of 'fool' in weight and meaning. 'The combat' means the fighting with spears, meaning: they do not fight before it and they endure for war. And the saying 'the best' is an interrogative of denial and reproach, meaning: do not think that our n’am is like those foolish weak ones. 'And far' means distant, and it is repeated for emphasis and to cut off hopes. And the saying 'from what you hope for' is related to an omitted phrase, meaning: I say that for what you hope for, and the 'lam' in it is for clarification of the subject. It may be that it is extra in it, and 'hope' means desire, and it may mean assumption. And if it is feminine, there are two opinions: that it is a plural of 'n’am' and that it is in the meaning of plural. And it was read 'We will give you to drink' with an opening and a closing, and it is a new statement, as if it were said: 'What is the lesson?' So it was said: 'We will give you to drink from between digested food and blood,' meaning Allah creates milk as a medium between digested food and blood, surrounding them, and between them is a barrier from Allah's power that neither of them overcomes the other in color, taste, or smell, but it is pure from all of that. It was said: When the animal eats the fodder, it settles in its stomach, and its bottom is digested food, its middle is milk, and its top is blood. The liver is assigned to these three types, dividing them, so blood flows in the veins, milk in the udder, and the digested food remains in the stomach. So glorified is Allah, how great is His power and how subtle is His wisdom for those who reflect and contemplate. Shuqayq was asked about sincerity, and he said: 'Distinguishing the action from defects, like distinguishing milk from between digested food and blood, which is easy to pass through the throat.' It is said that no one has ever choked on milk. And it was read: 'easy' with emphasis and 'easy' with lightness, like 'easy' and 'soft.' If you say: What is the difference between the first 'from' and the second? I say: The first is for partitive, because milk is part of what is in their bellies, like saying: 'I took from Zayd's wealth a garment.' The second is for the beginning of the limit, because between the digested food and blood is the place of drinking from which it begins, so it is a connection to 'We will give you to drink,' like saying: 'I gave him to drink from the pond,' and it may be that it is a state from the saying 'milk' presented before it, relating to an omitted phrase, meaning: 'being from between digested food and blood.'

Do you not see that if it were delayed and it was said: 'milk from between excrement and blood', it would be a description of it? It was brought forward because it is a place of lesson, so it is appropriate to be presented first. Some who believe that semen is pure have argued against those who consider it impure, due to its following the path of urine in this verse. It is not strange for something pure to follow the path of urine, just as milk emerges pure from between excrement and blood.