Do not litigate when you are in the wrong.” Al-Kalbi said: It means that one presents false testimony. The words, “nor offer it,” are in the jussive mood through the repetition of the prohibitive particle; that is, “Nor offer it to the judges.” It is also said to mean: Do not consume it wrongfully while attributing the matter to the judges. Qatadah said: Do not bring your brother’s property before a judge when you know that you are in the wrong, for his judgment does not make what is unlawful lawful. Shurayh the judge would say: “I may rule in your favor even though I think you are in the wrong; yet I have no choice but to judge according to the evidence presented before me. My judgment does not make what is unlawful lawful for you.”

‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn Muhammad al-Khatib informed us; ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Khallal informed us; Abu al-‘Abbas al-Asamm informed us; al-Rabi‘ informed us; al-Shafi‘i informed us; Malik ibn Anas informed us, from Hisham ibn ‘Urwah, from his father, from Zaynab bint Abi Salamah, from Umm Salamah, the wife of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I am only a human being, and you bring your disputes to me. Perhaps one of you is more persuasive in presenting his argument than another, so I judge in his favor according to what I hear from him. Whoever I award anything from his brother’s right, let him not take it, for I am only assigning him a portion of the Fire.” (1)

Allah Most High says: “So that you may consume a portion of people’s wealth sinfully”—that is, through injustice. Ibn ‘Abbas said: By means of a false oath through which he obtains his brother’s property—“while you know,” that is, while you know that you are in the wrong.

“They ask you about the new moons. Say, ‘They are fixed times for people and for Hajj.’ Righteousness is not that you enter houses from their rear; rather, righteousness belongs to the one who is mindful of Allah. Enter houses through their doors, and fear Allah, so that you may prosper.” (189)

Allah Most High says: “They ask you about the new moons.” This was revealed concerning Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and Tha‘labah ibn Ghanm al-Ansari. They said, “O Messenger of Allah, why does the crescent appear thin, then grow until it is filled with light, and then return to being thin as it first was, rather than remaining in one state?” (2) So Allah Most High revealed: “They ask you about the new moons.” The word is the plural of crescent, just as cloaks is the plural of cloak. It is called a crescent because people raise their voices in remembrance when they sight it. Thus, one says that a newborn istahalla when it cries out at birth, and that people ahallu for Hajj when they raise their voices in the talbiyah (the Hajj invocation).

“Say, ‘They are fixed times for people and for Hajj’”: the word means appointed times. That is, We made them so that people might know the times for Hajj, ‘umrah, fasting and breaking the fast, the terms of debts, women’s waiting periods, and other matters. For this reason, Allah made them differ from the sun, which remains constantly in one state. “Righteousness is not that you enter houses from their rear...”