“O you who believe, intoxicants, gambling, idols, and divining arrows are nothing but defilement—the work of Satan. So shun it, so that you may prosper. Satan seeks only to stir up enmity and hatred among you through intoxicants and gambling, and to turn you away from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you not then desist?” (90–91)

His saying, Exalted is He: “O you who believe, intoxicants and gambling”—that is, wagering—“and idols,” meaning the idols. They were called this because they used to set them up. Its singular is nasb, pronounced with an a-sound on the n and no vowel on the s; it is also read nusb, with a u-sound on the n, in both a light and an intensified form. “And divining arrows,” meaning the arrows by which they sought decisions; its singular is zalam. “Defilement”: something vile and repugnant. “The work of Satan”: that is, from his embellishment. “So shun it”: the pronoun refers back to “defilement.” “So that you may prosper.”