do in this world, as Allah, exalted is He, says: “And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did and make them scattered dust” (25:23).

The basic meaning of sabab (tie) is that by which one reaches something, whether a means, kinship, or affection. Thus, a rope is called a sabab, and so is a road.

“And those who followed”—that is, the followers—will say: “If only we had another return,” that is, a return to this world, “then we would disown them,” that is, those whom they followed, “as they have disowned us” today. “Thus”—that is, just as He showed them the punishment, so Allah will show them—or, it was said, just as they disown one another, Allah will show them—“their deeds as regrets upon them,” that is, as acts of regret. It was said that Allah will show them the evil deeds they committed, and they will regret having done them. It was also said that He will show them the righteous deeds they neglected, and they will regret having squandered them.

Ibn Kaysān said: They associated idols as partners with Allah, hoping that they would bring them nearer to Allah, glorified and exalted is He. Then, when they were punished for that whose reward they had hoped for, they grieved and regretted.

Al-Suddī said: Paradise will be raised before them, and they will look at it and at the homes they would have had therein, had they obeyed Allah. They will then be told: “These would have been your dwellings, had you obeyed Allah.” Then they will be apportioned among the believers. That is when they will regret and grieve. “And they will not leave the Fire.”

“O mankind, eat from what is on the earth that which is lawful and wholesome, and do not follow Satan’s footsteps; indeed, he is a clear enemy to you. He only commands you to evil and indecency, and that you say about Allah what you do not know.” (168–169)

His saying, exalted is He, “O mankind, eat from what is on the earth that which is lawful and wholesome,” was revealed concerning Thaqīf, Khuzaʿah, ʿĀmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿah, and Banū Mudlij, regarding the crops, livestock, the baḥīrah, the sāʾibah, the waṣīlah, and the ḥām—pre-Islamic categories of consecrated livestock—which they had forbidden to themselves. What is lawful is that which the Sacred Law has declared lawful. As for “wholesome,” it was said to mean that which is agreeable and pleasant. A Muslim finds what is lawful wholesome and shuns what is forbidden. It was also said that “wholesome” means pure.

“And do not follow Satan’s footsteps”: Abū Jaʿfar, Ibn ʿĀmir, al-Kisāʾī, Ḥafṣ, and Yaʿqūb read it with a ḍammah on the letter ṭāʾ, while the rest read it with the letter unvowelled. Satan’s footsteps are his traces and his slips. It was also said that they are vows involving acts of disobedience. Abū ʿUbaydah said: They are the sins regarded as insignificant. Al-Zajjāj said: They are his paths.

“Indeed, he is a clear enemy to you”: that is, one whose enmity is evident. It was also said: one who manifests his enmity. He manifested his enmity by refusing to prostrate to Adam and by deceiving him until he caused him to leave Paradise. The verb abāna may be either intransitive or transitive.

Then He mentions Satan’s enmity, saying: “He only commands you to evil,” that is, sin. The basic meaning of evil is that which harms its perpetrator. It is the verbal noun of sāʾa yasūʾu, meaning “to grieve,” with the verbal-noun forms sawʾan and masāʾatan; thus, “I saddened him, and he became sad.” “And indecency”: that is, acts of disobedience and whatever is vile in word or deed. It is a verbal noun, like sarrāʾ and ḍarrāʾ. Bādhān narrated from Ibn