Benefits of the Previous Verse

Among the benefits of this noble verse is the prohibition of the types of animals mentioned. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in what He has made lawful for us of the lawful and what He has forbidden for us of the forbidden, because it is medically established that these forbidden things are harmful, and because of their harm, Allah has forbidden them. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the prohibition of blood, except for what is excluded. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the prohibition of pork. Does its fat fall under this? Yes, by consensus, the fat of the pig is forbidden, even according to the Zahiriyyah, who say that the fat of the pig is forbidden, because the word "meat" when used in a general sense includes all parts of the animal. However, if one says "meat and fat," then a distinction is made between them. So if one says "meat," such as camel meat, cow meat, sheep meat, goat meat, or pig meat, it becomes inclusive of all of them. We move from this benefit to another, which is: that camel meat invalidates the ablution, whether the meat is red or white, or any part of the body. This is the stronger opinion: that camel meat invalidates the ablution, whether it is from the red meat, the white meat, the intestines, the rumen, or anything else.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is the exaltation of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and that it affects even food, as He said: . Among its benefits is the prohibition of what is slaughtered for other than Allah, whether it is slaughtered in the name of a king, a prophet, a leader, a homeland, or for any other reason, due to the generality of His saying: . Among the benefits of the noble verse is the prohibition of the strangled, the beaten to death, the fallen, the gored, and what has been eaten by a wild animal. Among its benefits is that if one of these things that did not die is found alive, then it becomes lawful, as He said: . We have previously discussed in the exegesis when it is considered "found alive." Is it necessary for it to move its hand, foot, tail, or eye? We explained that the stronger opinion is that if the flowing red blood comes out of it, it is alive. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the effect of intention on the act, as He said: , meaning for the idols, in which case it becomes forbidden, even if the name of Allah is mentioned over it, due to the effect of intention, and that intention affects even the lawfulness and prohibition of things. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the prohibition of seeking judgment by lots. Does this include seeking judgment by other means? The answer is yes, because it is based on illusion and not on reality, but Allah has replaced it for the servants with istikharah (the prayer for guidance in a decision). As for seeking judgment by anything, it is not permissible. If one intends to seek judgment and says, "If a grown man appears, I will travel, and if a small boy appears, I will not travel," or similar forms of seeking judgment, this is forbidden and not permissible. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the indication that seeking judgment by lots is open sinfulness (fisq), and the purpose of this is to deter people from it. Among the benefits of the noble verse is that whoever seeks judgment by lots loses his guardianship, his leadership, and his integrity, because the open sinner loses his integrity and does not lead prayer and is not considered upright. So whatever requires integrity, the one who seeks judgment by lots does not possess it. However, regarding leading the prayer, according to the stronger opinion, there is no harm in praying behind an open sinner as an imam. The issue is when we want to appoint someone to lead; we do not appoint an open sinner. But suppose he has already stepped forward. If your attendance brings together a man who shaves his beard and another man who does not shave his beard, and you also do not shave your beard, and the one who shaves steps forward, is it wise to say, "Step back"? The answer is no, because of the evil and corruption in that, unless you know that if you do so, he will repent and stop, in which case yes, do it. Otherwise, do not do it; pray behind him, and let his sinfulness be upon himself. Among the benefits of the noble verse is that the polytheists had despaired of changing people from their religion, as Allah the Exalted said: . Similar to this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): . We mentioned an issue regarding this and answered it, which is: Did shirk occur? It is said that this is a report about what was in the hearts of these disbelievers, and it is not necessary that what was in their hearts actually occurred, for the situation may change. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the prohibition of fearing the disbelievers in a way that leads to compromising in the religion of Allah, as He said: . Among its benefits is the explanation of the favor of Allah upon this Ummah (the Muslim community), and to Him belongs all praise and bounty, for completing the religion, as He said: . Among the benefits of the verse is the honor of that day on which the religion was completed, because if it were not for that, His saying: would have no benefit. However, it contains an indication of the honor of that day. But do we honor that day with what Allah has not honored it with? No, but we restrict ourselves to what the Shari'ah has brought. For this reason, when one of the Jews said to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab: "Allah has revealed a verse that, if it had been revealed to us, the Jews, we would have made that day a festival," and he recited the verse: , 'Umar said: "I know when it was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." He mentioned that it was revealed on a Friday on the Day of 'Arafah. But the whole matter is that we do not exalt that day with more than what has come. I only said that to prevent the saying of those who say: "It is recommended that we honor the day on which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was born." Because when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about fasting on Monday, he said: . The fact that he specified that he was born on that day indicates that it has honor. It is said that honor is derived from honor, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not mention the honor of the day he was born by its time in the month, but he mentioned its honor by its time in the week, and there is a difference between this and that. Secondly, this honor given to the day on which the Qur'an was revealed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and on which he was born is only fasting, as the Sunnah has come. And nothing else. If someone wanted to increase prayer on Monday based on it being the day the Messenger was born and sent, we would say this is wrong. Among the benefits of this verse is that our holding fast to the religion requires us to be proud of it, as He said: . So Allah attributed it to us so that we may be proud of it, take pride in it, and defend it. Is the matter so regarding the state of people today? Regarding the state of people today, many Muslims, unfortunately, are the opposite. Many Muslims are ashamed to say that they are Muslim, and this is a great humiliation. Among the benefits of the noble verse is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) favored His servants by completing the favor, as He said: . Branching from this is that He (Mighty and Majestic) praises Himself with what He has bestowed in order to endear Himself to His servants with His favors. For this reason, it came in the hadith: . This is in accordance with the fitrah (the innate natural disposition), that any person who does good to you, you will love him. This is while he is a created being like you, so how much more so with the Creator (Mighty and Majestic)? Among the benefits of the noble verse is that what contradicts what the Shari'ah has brought is not pleasing to Allah and is not acceptable, as He said: . This includes the entire religion and the branches that, in the claim of the doer, are part of the religion. For example, did Allah accept disbelief for His servants? No. Did He accept for His servants that they innovate in His religion what is not part of it? No. So this word: means in its principles, its branches, its whole, and its parts. Among the benefits of the noble verse is the mercy of Allah the Exalted to His servants, where He permitted the forbidden in cases of dire necessity. And there is a verse that is considered a rule for all forbidden things, and it is His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): . This verse that I recited last is more general, because the verse in Surat al-Ma'idah: goes to what? To what is mentioned, so that they may eat from it. As for what you pointed to, "And He has forbidden to you only what you are compelled to," is general and comprehensive. It remains: if one says, "If a person is compelled to drink alcohol due to thirst, does he drink it?" We say, if his necessity is averted by it, then yes, because the verse has no exception. But the scholars say that it is not possible for his necessity to be averted by drinking alcohol, because it only increases his burning and thirst. Therefore, if he is compelled to swallow a piece of food that is choking him and he has a cup of alcohol, then it is permissible for him to drink what averts the piece of food, because here the necessity is averted by it. Did you understand? Yes.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the activation of intention and its impact on deeds, as He said: . And among its benefits is that one must be cautious in violating what is forbidden, and that one’s self and desires should not overpower him until he leans, meaning tilts or inclines, toward sin; rather, he must be careful. Does the verse imply that it is not permissible to eat from carrion and what was mentioned except to the extent that satisfies hunger, or is he allowed to fill himself? Yes, the former, unless he knows that he will not find anything to eat and has nothing with which to carry the carrion. In that case, he is compelled to fill himself and carry it with him in his stomach, along with its water and shoes. But if he knows that he will reach something to eat before necessity overtakes him again, is it permissible for him to eat more than his necessity? No. If he knows that he will not reach it until the necessity returns, and he has nothing with which to carry this carrion, is it permissible for him to fill himself? Yes, because he is compelled to do so. And among the benefits of this noble verse is deriving rulings from the names of Allah the Exalted. This is because the names of Allah, especially the transitive ones, must have an effect, which is what we indicated previously: that the transitive name is not completed in faith by affirming it as one of the names of Allah and affirming the attribute it contains, and affirming the effect. From where is this derived? From His saying: . The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, derive rulings from such expressions, such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: , which means that if the highway robbers repent before being captured, the hadd punishment is dropped from them. It is mentioned that a Bedouin heard a reciter reciting the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And the thief, male and female, cut off their hands as a recompense for what they have earned, a punishment from Allah. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful." The Bedouin said: "Repeat the verse, I made a mistake." He repeated it and said: "And the thief, male and female, cut off their hands as a recompense for what they have earned, a punishment from Allah. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful." He said: "I made a mistake, repeat it." He repeated it, and in the third attempt he caught it and said: . He said: "Now I have hit the mark. 'Al-Aziz al-Hakim' (The Mighty, The Wise) means He cuts off, and even if He forgives and shows mercy, He still cuts off. Do you understand? And this is without a doubt."
And among the benefits of this noble verse is affirming these two names from the names of Allah: Al-Ghafur (The All-Forgiving) and Al-Rahim (The Most Merciful), and affirming the attribute they contain and the effect they entail, because Al-Ghafur is transitive, and so is mercy. Then Allah the Exalted said: .