The people of ignorance used to eat these prohibited things: the animal that dies of itself, and the blood in the intestines. They would roast it and say: 'What is not prohibited from it has been cut for him.' And what has been dedicated to other than Allah, meaning raising the voice for other than Allah, such as saying: 'In the name of al-Lat and al-Uzza' at the time of slaughtering. And the strangled animal which they strangled until it died, or that died from strangulation. And the beaten animal which they struck with a stick or stone until it died. And the fallen animal which fell from a mountain or into a well and died. And the gored animal which was gored by another and died from the goring. And what the wild animal has eaten of it, except what you have slaughtered, meaning what you have caught while it is thrashing about and its veins are gushing. Abdullah read: 'and the gored.' And there is a narration from Abu Amr (the wild animal) with the bā' being silent. And Ibn Abbas read: 'and what the wild animal has eaten.' And what was slaughtered on the altars, they had stones erected around the house on which they would slaughter and cut the meat, honoring them and drawing closer to them. They are called the altars, and the singular is altar. Al-A'sha said: 'And this erected altar, do not worship it... for the outcome, and your Lord Allah, worship.' The meaning here is the idol and one of the stones that were erected around the house for which they would sacrifice the offerings, drawing closer to it. And 'this' is a demonstrative pronoun indicating something omitted, which is explained by what is mentioned in a way of engagement. Al-Jawhari made it conditional: 'Beware of this altar,' so it is an admonition. It is narrated: 'Do not dwell upon it' instead of 'do not worship it.' It is narrated: 'the wealthy' instead of 'the devil,' meaning the rich. It is narrated instead of the second half: 'and your Lord Allah, worship,' and 'for the outcome,' meaning seeking the outcome. The placement of the object is to indicate restriction and to increase the conjunction. It may be that it is on the condition: 'and adhere to your Lord Allah,' so it is an exhortation, and the conjunction is added to what is implied. 'Worship' is emphasized by the nūn replaced by an alif for the pause. And 'on' means 'in.' It is narrated: 'Glorify' instead of 'Pray,' and the meaning is the same, meaning perform the prayers at the time of the morning and evening. And praise, like worship. It is said that it is plural, and the singular is altar. And it is read (the altars) with the sād being silent. And it has been prohibited for you to seek divination by the arrows, meaning by the lots. One of them, when he wanted to travel, or go to war, or trade, or marry, or any of the important matters, would cast lots, and it is written on some of them: 'My Lord has forbidden me,' and on some of them: 'My Lord has commanded me,' and some are blank. If the one that commands comes out, he proceeds with his intention. If the one that forbids comes out, he stops. And if the blank one comes out, he would cast them again. So the meaning of seeking divination by the arrows is seeking to know what has been apportioned to him from what has not been apportioned to him by the arrows. And it is said that it is gambling. And they divided the camel among the known altars. That is indeed a sin, referring to seeking divination or to consuming what has been prohibited to them, for the meaning is that it has been prohibited for you to consume carrion and so on.

If you say: Why was the seeking of divination by arrows for travelers and others considered a sin? I say: Because it is an entry into the knowledge of the unseen, which only Allah, the All-Knowing, has exclusive knowledge of. And He said: "None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah." And the belief that there is a way to it and to derive it, and His saying: My Lord commanded me, and my Lord forbade me: is a fabrication against Allah. And how does he know that He commanded him or forbade him? The soothsayers and astrologers are in this same position. And if he meant by Lord the idol, it has been narrated that they used to cast lots at their idols. Thus, His command today does not refer to a specific day, but rather to the present time and what is connected to it and resembles it from past and future times, like saying: I was young yesterday, and today I am gray. You do not mean by yesterday the day before your day, nor by today your day. And similar to this is "now" in His saying:

"Now when my mustache has turned white... and I have bitten from my canine on the root."

I have milked this age of its portions... and I have come to what has come with knowledge.

This is attributed to Al-Dhahli. And it is said to Abu Al-Ala Al-Ma'arri. And "now" refers to the present time. And "the mustache" with a pronounced r is a hair that grows in the middle of the chest, fine and elongated down to the navel, and it is the last part of a person to turn gray, so its whiteness is a metaphor for reaching the peak of grayness. As for "the mustache" with the opening only, it is the place of excrement. And "from my canine" is a circumstantial phrase. And "from" is partitive. And "the root" is the origin of something, as if its fangs have crumbled until only their roots remain. It is also possible that the meaning is: they have fallen and their place of flesh remains, which is also a metaphor that affirms what has been previously stated. And "I have milked this age" means I have gathered what is in it of events and experienced them. And "its portions" refers to its sides and aspects, as if time is likened to a place with sides in a figurative way, and the establishment of portions is imaginative, and it is in the accusative as an alternative. And a portion is also half of a she-camel's udder: it has two teats, and in the other half, there are two teats. So, it likens time to a she-camel in a figurative way, and the establishment of portions is imaginative. And milking it is an affirmation. This is more appropriate and closer than the first. And its portions are also in the accusative as an alternative. And it is possible that milking is multiplied for transitivity, not for exaggeration. So the meaning is: I made time milk for me its portions and gather for me what is in it of wonders and marvels. And it is said that what is meant by its portions are types of good and evil.

And I came: meaning I acted, for whoever does something must direct his body and heart towards it. The meaning is: it has become my habit to do what I do with knowledge I possess, from my long experience with the events of time. It is said: I mean the day it was revealed, and it was revealed on Friday, and it was the day of Arafah after Asr in the Farewell Pilgrimage. The disbelievers have lost hope in your religion. They have lost hope that they can invalidate it and that you will return to being lawful for these abominations after they have been prohibited to you. It is said: they have lost hope in your religion that they can overcome it, for Allah, exalted is He, has fulfilled His promise of making it prevail over all religions. So do not fear them after the religion has been made manifest and the fear of the disbelievers has disappeared, and they have turned into the defeated and subdued after having been the victors. And fear Me and dedicate your fear to Me. I have completed for you your religion. I have taken care of your enemy's matter, and I have made the upper hand for you, just as kings say: today our kingship has been completed and we have achieved what we want, when they have stopped those who contest their kingship and have reached their goals and desires. Or I have completed for you what you need in your obligations from teaching the lawful and unlawful and clarifying the laws and principles of jurisprudence and the foundations of ijtihad. And I have perfected My favor upon you with the opening of Mecca and entering it safely and victoriously, and demolishing the symbols of ignorance and their rituals, and that no polytheist has performed Hajj with you, nor has anyone circumambulated the House naked. Or I have perfected My favor upon you by completing the matter of religion and the laws, as if He said: today I have completed for you your religion and perfected My favor upon you by that, for there is no favor more complete than the favor of Islam. And I have chosen for you Islam as your religion, meaning I have chosen it for you from among the religions, and I have informed you that it is the only accepted religion. And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him. Indeed, this is your nation, one nation. If you say: how is His saying connected to 'whoever is compelled'? I say: by mentioning the prohibited things. And His saying: 'that is corruption' is an interruption that emphasizes the meaning of prohibition, and likewise what follows it, for the prohibition of these abominations is part of the complete religion and the perfect favor and the Islam described with acceptance, unlike other religions. Its meaning is: whoever is compelled to eat carrion or something else in a state of necessity due to hunger, not inclining to sin, as His saying: 'not transgressing nor being unjust.' Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and does not hold him accountable for that.