Since the negation of blame encompasses the matters mentioned as well as others, He qualified it with the words, “provided they are mindful of Allah, believe, and do righteous deeds.” That is, on condition that they refrain from sins, believe in Allah with sound faith that leads them to perform righteous deeds, and then remain steadfast upon that. Otherwise, a servant may possess these qualities at one time but not another. It is therefore not enough unless he remains so until his appointed time comes and perseveres in excellence, for Allah loves those who worship the Creator with excellence and benefit His servants with excellence. Also included in this noble verse is anyone who consumes something prohibited, or commits some other prohibited act after its prohibition, then acknowledges his sin, repents to Allah, remains mindful of Him, believes, and does righteous deeds. Allah will forgive him, and the sin he incurred thereby will be lifted from him.
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(94–96) “O you who believe, Allah will surely test you with some game within reach of your hands and spears, so that Allah may make evident those who fear Him unseen. Whoever transgresses after this will have a painful punishment. * O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in a state of ihram. Whoever among you kills it deliberately must make recompense with the equivalent in livestock, as determined by two just men among you, to be offered as a sacrifice reaching the Kaaba; or, as expiation, he must feed needy people; or fast for an equivalent period, so that he may taste the grave consequences of his deed. Allah has pardoned what is past, but whoever repeats the offense, Allah will exact retribution from him. Allah is Almighty, Lord of Retribution.”
It is one of Allah’s favors to His servants that He informed them of what He would bring about by His decree and predestination, so that they might obey Him and proceed with clear knowledge, and so that whoever perished would perish upon clear proof and whoever lived would live upon clear proof. Thus, the Exalted said, “O you who believe”—Allah will inevitably test your faith.
“Allah will surely test you with some game”—that is, with a small amount, making it a mild trial out of His alleviation and kindness. The game with which Allah tests you will be “within reach of your hands and spears”; that is, you will be able to hunt it, so that the test may be realized. Were it beyond the reach of both hand and spear, the test would serve no purpose.
He then mentioned the wisdom behind this test, saying, “so that Allah may make evident”—with knowledge manifested to creation and upon which reward and punishment are based—“those who fear Him unseen.” Such a person refrains from what Allah has prohibited despite being able and fully capable of doing it, and Allah therefore grants him an abundant reward. This distinguishes him from one who does not fear Allah unseen and who, when presented with an opportunity to sin, does not restrain himself but hunts whatever he can. “Whoever among you transgresses after this” clarification, which has left no excuse and made the way clear, “will have a painful punishment”—a torment so painful and agonizing that none but Allah can describe it. Such a transgressor has no excuse. What counts is fearing Allah unseen, when no one else is present. As for displaying fear of Allah in front of people, it may arise from fear of the people, in which case no reward is earned for it.
He then explicitly prohibited killing game while in ihram, saying, “O you who believe, do not kill game while you are in a state of ihram”—that is, while consecrated for Hajj or Umrah. The prohibition against killing it also includes the steps leading to its killing, participating in the killing, pointing it out, and assisting in killing it. Indeed, this prohibition is so comprehensive that a person in ihram is forbidden to eat an animal killed or hunted on his behalf. All of this serves to honor this great rite: a person in ihram is forbidden to kill or hunt what had been lawful to him before entering ihram.
The words, “Whoever among you kills it deliberately,” mean whoever intentionally kills game. “Then” he must offer “recompense with the equivalent of what he killed from among livestock”—that is, camels, cattle, or sheep. The animal that most closely resembles the game is identified, and he must offer its equivalent, slaughtering it and giving it in charity. The criterion for determining equivalence is that “two just men among you shall judge it”—that is, two just men who know the ruling and the basis of resemblance. This is what the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did: they ruled that a sheep was due for a pigeon, a sacrificial camel for an ostrich, and a cow for wild cattle, despite their varying kinds. Likewise, whenever game resembles one of the livestock animals, its equivalent is due. If it resembles none of them, its monetary value is due, in accordance with the general rule governing destroyed property. That sacrifice must be “an offering reaching the Kaaba”—that is, it must be slaughtered within the Sacred Precinct.
“Or, as expiation, he must feed needy people.” In other words, the expiation corresponding to that recompense is to feed needy people: food is provided to them in lieu of the equivalent livestock animal.
Many scholars have said that the animal due as recompense is appraised, food is purchased for its value, and each needy person is given one mudd of wheat or half a sāʿ of another food. “Or its equivalent” in food “in fasting”; that is, he fasts one day for every needy person who would have been fed. This is “so that,” through the imposition of the aforementioned recompense, “he may taste the grave consequences of his deed.” “But whoever repeats the offense” thereafter, “Allah will exact retribution from him. Allah is Almighty, Lord of Retribution.”
Allah specified deliberate killing of game even though the recompense is incumbent upon both one who acts deliberately and one who errs. This accords with the legal principle that whoever unlawfully destroys an inviolable life or property is liable for it regardless of the circumstances. Allah has attached recompense, punishment, and retribution to the act; punishment and retribution apply to the deliberate offender. One who errs, however, incurs no punishment and owes only the recompense. [This is the majority’s answer regarding the qualification Allah mentioned. A group of scholars, however, hold that the recompense applies only to one who acts deliberately, which is the apparent meaning of the verse. The difference between this case and liability for accidentally causing loss of human life or property is that the right here belongs to Allah; therefore, just as no sin is incurred, no recompense is due.] (1).