because He has forbidden only what He mentioned, so everything else is lawful for them. As for mankind generally, He has commanded them to eat what is lawful and good on earth. Yet He has made things lawful only for believers; He has made nothing lawful for disbelievers. Lawfulness is therefore conditional upon faith. Whoever does not use His provision to help him worship Him has had nothing made lawful for him, even though He has not forbidden it either. Thus, it cannot be said that Allah has either made it lawful for them or forbidden it. He has only forbidden the Jews what He mentioned in Surah al-An‘ām.

For this reason, in Surah al-An‘ām and elsewhere, He condemns those who forbid what He has not forbidden, as when He says:

“Say, ‘Has He forbidden the two males or the two females?’”

Then He says:

“And to the Jews We forbade every animal with claws.”

Then He, Most High, says:

“Say, ‘Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you,’”

and the verses that follow.

In Surah al-Nahl, He says:

“And to the Jews We forbade what We related to you before,”

and the rest of the verse. He states that He forbade these things because of their transgression, saying:

“For the wrongdoing of the Jews, We forbade them good things which had been lawful for them.”

He also says:

“Thus We recompensed them for their transgression.”

All of this supports the more correct of the scholars’ two views: this prohibition remains binding upon them after Muhammad was sent, and is lifted only by following him. It is a punitive prohibition imposed for their wrongdoing and transgression. Their wrongdoing and transgression have not ceased; rather, they have increased and become more grievous, making them still more deserving of punishment.

Moreover, Allah Most High spoke of this prohibition after Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sent, to make clear that He had forbidden only the things He specified. Had that prohibition been lifted, He would not have mentioned it as an exception.