And it was recited: 'and the sacrificial animals,' and 'the sacrificial animals' can be pronounced with a light or heavy yā. It refers to what is sacrificed at the Ka'bah.

In the accusative case, it is connected to the pronoun in 'they prevented you.' That is: they prevented you and they prevented the sacrificial animals. In the genitive case, it is connected to the Sacred Mosque, meaning: and they prevented you from sacrificing the sacrificial animals, confined from reaching its place, held back from being sold. In the nominative case, it is on: 'and they prevented the sacrificial animals.' Its place is where it is permissible to sacrifice it, meaning it is obligatory. This is evidence for Abu Hanifah that the place of the one who is restricted is the sanctuary of his sacrificial animal.

If you say: how did the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and those with him become lawful while their sacrificial animals were sacrificed at Hudaybiyyah? I say: part of Hudaybiyyah is within the sanctuary. [Narrated by al-Bukhari from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar who said: 'The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, went out for 'Umrah, and the disbelievers of Quraysh prevented him from reaching the House, so he sacrificed his sacrificial animals and shaved his head at Hudaybiyyah.' And in the narration of al-Maswar and Marwan, 'He, blessings and peace be upon him, said to his companions: 'Stand up and sacrifice, then shave.'] Al-Bukhari said: and Hudaybiyyah is outside the sanctuary.

And it has been narrated that the encampment of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was in the lawful area, and his place of prayer was in the sanctuary. [Narrated by Ahmad from the narration of al-Maswar and Marwan in the lengthy hadith. He said: 'And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, used to pray in the sanctuary while he was encamped in the lawful area.']

If you say: then he sacrificed in the sanctuary, why was it said: confined from reaching its place? I say: the intended place is the known place, which is Mina, that you do not know them, the description of the men and women altogether.

And 'that you tread upon them' is a substitute for the inclusion of them or from the pronoun in 'you do not know them.' And 'ma'irah' is a noun, derived from 'a'ra' meaning to expose when it befalls him. [The saying 'meaning to expose when it befalls him' is stated in the correct wording: he exposes his people, meaning he brings upon them something disliked that stains them with it.

And 'ma'irah' means sin. (A)] It is what is disliked and burdensome to him.

And 'without knowledge' is related to 'that you tread upon them,' meaning: that you tread upon them without being aware of them. And 'tread' and 'trample' are expressions of infliction and destruction. He said:

'And you tread upon us a tread of anger... like the tread of a tied camel upon the herbage.' [And you tread upon us a tread of anger... like the tread of a tied camel upon the herbage.

And you left us meat upon the heap... if only you would have preserved some of the meat.

For al-Harith ibn Wa'ilah al-Dhahli. And 'tread' means to place the foot upon something with force. And it is a metaphor for proclaiming the pilgrimage. And 'anger' - as a cause - is resentment and fury. And 'herbage' - with a sukoon - is a type of sour grass that camels graze upon, and a 'herbage camel' is one that grazes on herbage. He says: you came to us elevated over us with your strength and the severity of your oppression, like the tread of a camel tied to the herbage that is growing: meaning the new growth. And it is narrated: the dry herbage destroys it due to its size and strength, along with the moisture of that plant and its weakness, or with its dryness it crumbles, so he made it tied so that your oppression would be strong, where it raises its feet together and strikes them when leaping. Or he made it tied because the submissive, when able, does not forgive. And 'the heap' is the butcher's table upon which the meat is cut. And 'if only' is conditional, its answer is indicated by his saying 'you left us,' meaning: on the condition that you left here a remainder, you left us like this meat that is prepared for eating. And in the expression 'if only,' there is an indication that he did not preserve any of them.]

And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'And the last tread that Allah tread upon the people of Mecca.' [This was mentioned at the end of Surah At-Tawbah.] And the meaning is: there were in Mecca some Muslims mixed with the polytheists, not distinguished from them nor known by their places, so it was said:

And if it were not for the dislike of you to destroy believing people among the polytheists while you are unaware of them, so that you would be afflicted by their destruction with harm and difficulty: your hands would not have been restrained from them. And the answer to 'if it were not' is omitted due to the indication of the speech upon it. [Mahran said: 'It is permissible for the answer to 'if it were not' to be omitted... etc.' Ahmad said: 'Their reference here is one, even though 'if it were not' indicates the impossibility of existence, and 'if' indicates the impossibility of impossibility, and between these two there is an apparent contradiction, because 'if it were not' here is based on existence, and if it were to enter upon his saying 'if they were to separate' which refers to the non-existence of them and the impossibility of non-existence being existence, so it leads to one matter in this way. My grandfather, may Allah have mercy on him, preferred this second way and called it 'tatriah,' and it is most often when the speech is prolonged and there is a long time from its beginning and there is a need to refer the latter to the first, so sometimes it is referred to by its wording, and sometimes by another wording that conveys its meaning. There have been precedents for it, and Allah knows best. He is the Guide.] And it is permissible for 'if they were to separate' to be a repetition of 'if it were not' for believing men, as they refer to one meaning, and 'we would have punished' is the answer. If you say: What harm would befall them if they killed them while they do not know? I say: They would be subject to the obligation of blood money and expiation, and the bad saying of the polytheists that they did to their people what they did to us without distinction, and the sin if some negligence occurs from them. If you say: The saying of Allah, 'So that Allah may admit into His mercy whom He wills,' is a reason for what? I say: For what the verse indicates and is directed to: from restraining hands from the people of Mecca, and preventing killing them, as a protection for those among them who are believers, as if it were said: The restraint and prevention of punishment was so that Allah may admit into His mercy, meaning: in His guidance for increasing goodness and obedience among their believers. Or so that He may admit into Islam whoever desires it from their polytheists, if they were to separate, if they were to distinguish some from others: whoever separates, he separates.