Medinan [except for verse 3, which was revealed at Arafat during the Farewell Pilgrimage] and it consists of one hundred and twenty verses [revealed after the conquest]. 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.'

It is said that he fulfilled the covenant and upheld it. [[The author said: "It is said that he fulfilled the covenant and upheld it, and from it are those who uphold their covenant." Ahmad said: It is mentioned in the Noble Book (وَفَّى) with emphasis in the saying of Allah: (وَإِبْراهِيمَ الَّذِي وَفَّى) and it appears in many instances. From it is (أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ). As for (وفى) in its trilateral form, it is only mentioned in the saying of Allah: (وَمَنْ أَوْفى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ) because it is the comparative form built from وفى, which is only built from the trilateral root.]] And from it: those who uphold their covenant. The contract: the binding covenant, likened to the binding of a rope and similar things. Al-Hutay'ah said:

A people, when they make a contract for their neighbor, ... they tighten the rope and secure it with a knot.

A people who are the nose and tails of others... and who can compare to the nose of a she-camel?

For Al-Hutay'ah. The rope - like a book - is a rope tied at the bottom of the bucket, then in Iraqi dialect, the plural is عرقوة, which is the stick in the mouth of the bucket. And the knot - like a cause - is a rope tied at the end of the عرقوة and the rope to bind them together. This is a metaphorical representation comparing their state in securing the covenant with various aspects to the state of one who secures a bucket with multiple ropes. Or it likens their covenant's strength to that of a securely tied bucket. 'And the nose of the she-camel' is a nickname for Ja'far ibn Qari', whose father slaughtered a she-camel for his wives, and he sent him to take his share but found only the head. His father said: 'Take it,' so he began to drag it by the nose, and he was nicknamed that. His tribe was ashamed of that nickname, so the poet borrowed the term 'nose' for the distinguished and high-ranking. Or he likens the people to it in a profound comparison, and likens others to the tail in their lowliness and insignificance. The question is rhetorical, meaning that no one can equate the nose and the tail in honor, thus this nickname became a praise from that time onward.

And it contains a beautiful double entendre.]

These are the contracts of Allah that He made with His servants and obligated them with the duties of obligation. It is said: They are the contracts they make among themselves regarding trusts and the oaths they take and the agreements in transactions and similar matters. It appears that they are the contracts of Allah upon them in His religion regarding the lawful and unlawful, and that it is a statement presented in general and then followed by details, which is His saying: 'It has been made lawful for you...' and what follows. The beast: every four-legged creature on land and sea, and its addition to the cattle is for clarification, and it is an addition that means 'of' like 'a silver ring.' Its meaning is: the beast from the cattle except what is recited to you, except for what is forbidden that is recited to you from the Quran, such as His saying: (حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ), and except for what is recited to you, a verse of its prohibition. And the cattle: the eight pairs. It is said that 'the beast of cattle' refers to deer and wild cattle and similar creatures, as if they intended what resembles the cattle and is close to it from the kind of beasts in rumination and lack of fangs, thus it was added to the cattle due to the similarity. 'غير مُحِلِّي الصَّيْدِ' is in the accusative case as a condition of the pronoun in: (لَكُمْ), meaning: We have made these things lawful for you, not lawful for hunting. And from Al-Akhfash, its accusative case is from the saying: (أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ) and His saying: وَأَنْتُمْ حُرُمٌ is a condition regarding the hunting prohibition, as if it were said: We have made some of the cattle lawful for you while you are refraining from hunting and you are in the state of ihram, so that it does not become burdensome for you. Indeed, Allah judges what He wills of the rulings, and He knows that it is wisdom and benefit. The sacred area: the plural of حرام, which is the prohibited.