from your admonition; he merely hears your voice.

It was also said that its meaning is: The likeness of those who disbelieve, in their lack of understanding and comprehension of Allah and His Messenger, is that of livestock being called to, which comprehend nothing of commands and prohibitions except the sound itself. Thus, the intended comparison is with that which is called to, while the wording is framed in terms of the caller. This is common in Arabic usage: they employ such expressions because the meaning is clear to them. They say, “So-and-so fears you as one fears a lion,” meaning, as he fears the lion. Allah Most High says, “Indeed, its keys would burden a company of strong men” (al-Qaṣaṣ 28:76), whereas it is the company who would be burdened by the keys.

It was also said that it means: The likeness of those who disbelieve in calling upon idols, which neither comprehend nor reason, is like that of a shepherd calling to sheep: nothing is gained from his call except a call and a cry. Likewise, the disbeliever gains nothing from calling upon and worshipping deities except toil and affliction, as Allah Most High says, “If you call upon them, they will not hear your call; and even if they were to hear, they would not respond to you” (Fāṭir 35:14).

It was also said that the meaning of the verse is: The likeness of those who disbelieve in calling upon idols is that of one who cries out amid the hollows of mountains and hears a sound—the echo—which conveys nothing that he can understand. Thus, the meaning of the verse is like one who calls to that from which the caller hears nothing but a call and a cry.

“Deaf”: the Arabs describe one who neither hears nor understands as though he were deaf. “Mute”: they do not speak what is good. “Blind”: they do not perceive guidance. “So they do not understand.”

“O you who believe, eat of the wholesome things We have provided for you, and give thanks to Allah, if it is Him you worship. (172) He has only forbidden you carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and that over which a name other than Allah has been invoked. But whoever is compelled by necessity, neither desiring it nor exceeding the limit, incurs no sin. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (173)”

Regarding His saying, “O you who believe, eat of the wholesome things”: that is, the lawful things “We have provided for you.”

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Mulayḥī informed us; Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Shurayḥ informed us; Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Baghawī informed us; ʿAlī ibn al-Jaʿd informed us; Fuḍayl ibn Marzūq informed us, from ʿAdī ibn Thābit, from Abū Ḥāzim, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “O people, Allah is pure and accepts only what is pure. Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded the messengers, saying, ‘O messengers, eat of the wholesome things and do righteous deeds’ (al-Muʾminūn 23:51). And He said, ‘O you who believe, eat of the wholesome things We have provided for you.’ Then he mentioned a man who journeys long, dishevelled and dust-covered, stretching his hands towards heaven and saying, ‘My Lord, my Lord,’ while his food is forbidden, his drink is forbidden, his clothing is forbidden, and he has been nourished with what is forbidden. How, then, can such a person’s supplication be answered?” (1)