—whoever employs its causes will acquire it, whether Muslim or non-Muslim; it belongs to no one in particular, and only those who investigate it attain it.

11 – The ḥadīth shows that the occurrence of all things, whether good or bad, is tied to the causes that Allah the Exalted has arranged for them.

12 – It also teaches that branches of worldly knowledge—such as ghīlah (pregnancy that occurs while the mother is still nursing), the pollination of date-palms, and the like—are matters the Prophet ﷺ addressed in his human capacity, and in which he might therefore be correct or mistaken. They are not among the subjects directly related to the Message; rather, they are issues that must be verified through experience and investigation.

13 – The text affirms the prohibition of waʾd (infanticide), a pre-Islamic custom that consisted of burying one’s daughters alive. Allah says, “And when the girl who was buried alive is asked (8) for what sin she was killed (9)” (Sūrat al-Takwīr). The unlawfulness of this act is one of the matters known in religion by necessity.

14 – His words, “We used to practise withdrawal while the Qur’an was being revealed,” establish a fundamental legal principle: whatever the Companions did during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ counts as Sunnah, whether or not we know that the Prophet ﷺ was aware of it, for nothing is hidden from Allah, and He would never leave the Muslims upon an action He wished to forbid without clarifying the matter to them.

15 – The same phrase also supports another rule: anything that was done in the Prophet’s time and he quietly approved—by not prohibiting it—is among the matters excused and permitted.

16 – The ḥadīth demonstrates that Allah’s universal will is always enacted; no precaution or preventative measure can overturn it. Nevertheless, a person is commanded to take useful, beneficial means, for when Allah wills to protect someone from a harm He appoints a cause that shields him from it.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: “What the Messenger of Allah ﷺ rejected in the Jews’ claim was their assertion that withdrawal makes pregnancy absolutely impossible, equating it with ending one’s lineage through infanticide. He refuted them and informed them that withdrawal does not prevent conception if Allah wills to create it; and if He does not will its creation, then it is not infanticide.”