died while drinking wine and [consuming] (1) the proceeds of gambling?” Then Allah, Most High, revealed: “There is no blame upon those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they consumed”—that is, for the wine they drank and the proceeds of gambling they consumed—“provided that they are mindful of Allah”: that is, provided they avoided associating partners with Allah; “and believe”: and affirm the truth; “and do righteous deeds; then remain mindful of Allah”: by avoiding wine and gambling after they had been prohibited; “and believe; then remain mindful of Allah”: by avoiding whatever Allah has forbidden them to eat or drink; “and excel in goodness. And Allah loves those who excel in goodness.”
It was also said that the meaning of the first phrase is: provided they avoided associating partners with Allah, believed, and affirmed the truth; then they remained mindful of Allah—that is, they persisted in that mindfulness—and increased in faith; then they avoided all sins and excelled in goodness. It was also said: that is, they were mindful of Allah through excellence in goodness; for everyone who excels in goodness is mindful of Allah. “And Allah loves those who excel in goodness.”
His saying, glorified and exalted is He: “O you who believe! Allah will surely test you with some game within the reach of your hands and your spears”—to the end of the verse. This was revealed in the year of Hudaybiyyah, when they were in a state of consecration. Allah tested them with game, and the wild animals, because of their abundance, came right up to their camps, so they considered taking them. Thus it was revealed: “O you who believe! Allah will surely test you”—that is, Allah will test you. The purpose of this trial is to distinguish the obedient from the disobedient; otherwise, He has no need to test them with some game. He used the partitive expression, “some,” because He tested them only with land game.
“Within the reach of your hands”: that is, chicks, eggs, and small game unable to escape; “and your spears”: that is, larger game. “So that Allah may know”: that is, so that Allah may see—for He already knows—“who fears Him without seeing Him”: that is, who fears Allah despite not having seen Him, as in His saying: “those who stand in awe of their Lord without seeing Him” (21:49). That is, he fears Him and therefore does not hunt while in a state of consecration. “Whoever transgresses after that”: that is, whoever hunts after its prohibition, “will suffer a painful punishment.” It is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with him—that he said: “His back and belly are [painfully] (2) flogged, and his clothes are stripped from him.”
“Believers! Do not kill game while you are in a state of consecration. Whoever among you kills it deliberately must make amends by offering an equivalent sacrificial animal, as judged by two just men among you, to be delivered to the Kaabah; or by feeding the needy as an expiation; or by fasting an equivalent number of days, so that he may taste the consequence of his deed. Allah has pardoned what is past; but whoever repeats the offence, Allah will take retribution from him. And Allah is Almighty, Lord of Retribution. (95)”
His saying, glorified and exalted is He: “Believers! Do not kill game while you are in a state of consecration”: that is, while consecrated for hajj or umrah. The word is a plural form referring to those in a state of consecration, and may be used of either a man or a woman. This state may also result from entering the Sacred Sanctuary; it is said: