by Allah to His Prophet Muhammad—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him and his family—from His bounty. After mentioning His favor to him through this abundant goodness, He said: ﴿So pray to your Lord and sacrifice﴾. That is, in gratitude to Allah for this tremendous blessing, you are to pray and offer sacrifice to Allah.
What is meant by prayer here is every prayer. Foremost among them is the prayer associated with sacrifice, namely the Eid al-Adha prayer. Yet the verse is comprehensive and general: ﴿So pray to your Lord﴾—the obligatory and voluntary prayers, as well as the Eid and Friday prayers. ﴿And sacrifice﴾ means: draw near to Him by offering sacrifice. The term nahr refers specifically to sacrificing camels, while dhabh refers to slaughtering cattle and sheep. Camel sacrifice is mentioned because camels are more beneficial to the poor than other animals. Thus, during the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—offered one hundred camels. He sacrificed sixty-three of them with his own hand and gave the remainder to Ali ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—who sacrificed them. He gave all their parts in charity except for one piece from each she-camel. Those pieces were placed in a pot and cooked; he then ate some of their meat and drank some of their broth. He also commanded that even their saddlecloths and hides be given in charity (1)—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.
The command in the verse is addressed both to him and to the nation. We must therefore devote our prayers exclusively to Allah and offer our sacrifices exclusively to Allah, just as our Prophet—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—was commanded.
He then said: ﴿Indeed, the one who hates you is himself cut off﴾. This contrasts with His granting him al-Kawthar. He said: ﴿Indeed, the one who hates you is himself cut off﴾. The word shāni’aka means “the one who hates you,” while shana’ān means hatred. Hence the words of Allah Most High: ﴿Do not let the hatred of a people who barred you from the Sacred Mosque provoke you to transgress﴾ [al-Mā’idah: 2]. That is: Do not let your hatred of them lead you to transgress. Allah also says: ﴿Do not let the hatred of a people lead you away from justice﴾ [al-Mā’idah: 8]. That is: Do not let your hatred of them cause you to abandon justice. ﴿Be just; that is closer to piety﴾. Thus, shāni’aka in His words ﴿Indeed, the one who hates you﴾ means “the one who hates you.” ﴿Is himself cut off﴾: the word al-abtar is an elative form derived from batara