Explanation: And His saying, Glorious is His mention: “He has made lawful for you the livestock of cattle, except what is recited to you” — to His saying: “So do not fear them, but fear Me.”

The reciter: And His saying, Glorious is His mention: to His saying

The Shaykh : His saying, Exalted is He: He said: This is an independent sentence that is a principle among the principles of the Shari'ah: fulfill the contracts. The contracts between you and Allah, and the contracts between you and the people. Among the contracts between a person and his Lord is the vow. A vow is a contract between him and his Lord. Likewise, according to many scholars, engaging in obedience. For this reason, some scholars said that it is not permissible for a person, once he has engaged in obedience, even if it is voluntary, to exit it except out of dire necessity, because entering into obedience is a commitment to complete it. However, the majority hold the opposite view, saying that he entered into voluntary obedience as a voluntary act, and he has the choice in it; he has contracted with Allah regarding a matter in which he knows he has a dispensation to leave it. And His saying: Who made it lawful? Allah, Mighty and Majestic. He obscured the doer because of the knowledge of Him, just as He said, Exalted is He: So just as we do not conceive of a Creator other than Allah, we do not conceive of one who makes things lawful other than Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because the One who is unique in creation is the One who is unique in ruling. “He has made lawful” means Allah has made lawful for you the livestock of cattle, except what is recited to you. He did not say “except what was recited,” even though there are verses that preceded in Surat al-Ma'idah in which some of the forbidden things were mentioned. But what is mentioned in al-Ma'idah is more detailed than the rest. For this reason, he said: and he did not say “except what was recited.” What is recited to us? “Forbidden to you are dead animals, in the same surah, and blood, and the flesh of pigs,” and so on. Now, means He made it lawful for you while you are not in a state of consecration for hunting, and “muhilli” means doing the action of one who makes it lawful, even if you do not make it lawful by saying it is lawful. It means not hunting while you are in a state of consecration. “Haram” is the plural of “muharram.” A “muharram” is one who has entered a sacred state, whether it is the state of ihram or a sacred place. We said that to include the one in a state of consecration inside the sacred precinct and the one in a state of consecration outside the sacred precinct. Because people are of three types: one in a state of consecration outside the sacred precinct, is hunting lawful for him or not? Hunting is lawful. And one in a state of consecration outside the sacred precinct, hunting is forbidden for him. And one in a state of consecration inside the sacred precinct, hunting is forbidden for him. And one in a state of consecration inside the sacred precinct, hunting is forbidden for him a fortiori. So the types are four: one in a state of consecration outside the sacred precinct, one in a state of consecration inside the sacred precinct, one in a state of consecration outside the sacred precinct, and one in a state of consecration inside the sacred precinct. Now, the one in a state of consecration does He rule by nature or by law? He rules by law as He wills, and He rules by nature as He wills. But the will is subordinate to wisdom, as we have said more than once, that every action Allah does or every law Allah legislates is based on wisdom. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: And He said in Surat al-Mumtahanah: Now, Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) gave us the verses: Do not violate the sacred rites of Allah. “Shu'a'ir” is the plural of “shu'urah,” and it is the great worship that Allah, Exalted is He, commanded to be respected and magnified. It includes the state of ihram when a person enters it, for it is among the sacred rites of Allah. Allah, Exalted is He, said: meaning do not violate these sacred rites, transgress them, and oppose the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And “the sacred month,” and what is meant by it is the genus, which includes the four months, and they are: Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram, three consecutive months, and the fourth is Rajab, which is separate. These four are distinguished by being sacred. The scholars differed on whether their prohibition was abrogated or remains. The correct view is that it remains, and there is no evidence for abrogation. As for what occurred of the fighting of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with the people of Ta'if in Dhu al-Qa'dah, this was a continuation of the fighting with the people of Makkah, which was in Shawwal, in Ramadan, and in Shawwal as well. Likewise, in the Battle of Tabuk, it was similar to self-defense, because it was said to him that the Romans had gathered against you. So the important point is that the stronger opinion, even though it is contrary to the opinion of the majority, is that the prohibition of initiating fighting in these four months has not ceased, but it remains and has not been abrogated. And what indicates this is that this surah, which is al-Ma'idah, is among the last to be revealed, until some of the Salaf said that whatever was in it of lawful, they made it lawful, and whatever was in it of forbidden, they forbade it.