This is the opening volley of one of the Qur'an's most devastating refutations of fabricated religious law. The Arab polytheists would divide their harvest and livestock into two heaps: one labelled "for Allah", the other "for our (idol) partners." Maududi exposes the cheat: if the "Allah" portion accidentally got mixed with the idols' portion, they kept it for the idols; if the idols' portion got mixed with Allah's, they reasoned "Allah is rich, He doesn't need it" and again diverted it to the idols. So in practice, every shortfall went against Allah and every surplus went to the idols. "Sā'a mā yaḥkumūn" — "evil is what they decide!" The verse exposes not only theological shirk but the psychological tilt of every false religion: it always finds a way to honour the idol at Allah's expense.

Maududi explains that the "partners" referred to here are both the priestly establishment (who issued rulings sanctifying infanticide) and the satanic whispers (who beautified it in the mind). The Arabs killed female infants out of fear of dishonour, killed children at times of famine out of fear of poverty, and sometimes sacrificed children to idols outright. The verse names the source: the "partners" — both human and demonic — made this killing seem fair (zayyana). Maududi draws the chilling principle: once you accept any authority alongside Allah, that authority will eventually demand from you something Allah forbade. False religion always ends in shedding innocent blood. The verse closes: "Leave them and what they fabricate" — a Prophetic instruction to keep delivering the message without compromise.

Maududi catalogues the three categories of fabricated taboo named here: (1) Ḥijr — cattle and crops declared "off-limits" except to a chosen priestly caste; (2) animals whose backs were "forbidden" to ride (the camel that had birthed ten she-camels, etc.) — left to wander as sacred property of the idols; and (3) animals over which Allah's name was deliberately not pronounced at slaughter, being dedicated instead to deities like Lāt and 'Uzzā. Maududi notes that every one of these rulings was invented by priests and ancestors, then attributed to "divine command." The verse calls this exactly what it is: iftirā'an 'alayhi — "a fabrication against Allah." The promise of recompense is precise: they will pay for every falsehood they ascribed to the Lawgiver.

Maududi calls this the most ludicrous of the fabricated laws — and uses its absurdity to expose the arbitrariness of all such inventions. The rule was: whatever is born alive from these sacred cattle is forbidden to women; but if the same animal is born dead, then women may share with the men. Maududi remarks: there is no rational, ethical, or theological principle whatsoever behind this — it is pure invention dressed as religion. The Qur'an's response is consistent: sayajzīhim waṣfahum — "He will recompense them for their characterization" — i.e. for the very act of describing their inventions as divine law. The two closing names — Ḥakīm (Wise) and 'Alīm (Knowing) — are pointed: only the Wise and Knowing has authority to legislate halal and haram.

The verse delivers a final, summarising verdict on the entire system: qad khasira alladhīna qatalū awlādahum safahan bi-ghayri 'ilm — "Utter losers are those who killed their children in folly, without knowledge." Maududi identifies two crimes side by side: (1) the killing of children, (2) the forbidding of what Allah had made lawful — both fraudulently attributed to Allah. The combination, Maududi notes, defines the heart of corrupted religion: it adds prohibitions Allah did not legislate, while removing protections Allah did legislate (like the inviolability of innocent life). The closing phrase is final: "They have certainly strayed and they were not (ever) guided."

Maududi notes the abrupt turn in tone: after demolishing the false prohibitions, Allah turns to the abundance He has actually created — trellised vineyards, free-standing palms, varied crops, olives and pomegranates "resembling and yet different." He has created all of this for you. Kulū min thamarihi idhā athmar — "Eat of its fruit when it bears fruit" — Allah Himself authorises consumption. Two limits follow: (1) ātū ḥaqqahu yawma ḥaṣādih — "give its due on the day of harvest" (Maududi explains: charity to the poor at harvest, the seed of what would later become zakāh); (2) lā tusrifū — "do not be wasteful or extravagant." The contrast with the previous verses is total: Allah liberates what man falsely restricts, and restricts only what man falsely liberates (waste, greed).

The verse identifies two purposes for which Allah created cattle: ḥamūlah (large beasts for carrying loads — camels, oxen) and farsh (smaller animals or those whose wool/hide is "spread" for use — sheep, goats). Maududi explains: every category Allah has created has been created for human benefit. The instruction is liberating — "Eat of what Allah has provided you" — and then a sharp warning: "Do not follow the footsteps of Satan" (khuṭuwāt ash-shayṭān). Maududi calls the polytheists' fabricated dietary taboos exactly that: Satan's footsteps. The verse declares the enemy clearly: every voice that forbids what Allah has made halal — whether in 6th-century Arabia or anywhere since — is taking dictation from 'aduwwun mubīn, the open enemy.

Now the Qur'an pins the polytheists down with a precise interrogation, beginning the famous "eight pairs" argument (continuing into the next verse). Allah created sheep in a pair (male and female), and goats in a pair (male and female). Maududi unpacks the cross-examination: Which of these has Allah actually forbidden? The two males? The two females? Or whatever is in the wombs of the two females? The polytheists' rulings — some animals forbidden to women, some to men, some only if stillborn — were arbitrary slices that could not be tied to any consistent divine principle. "Nabbi'ūnī bi-'ilm" — "Tell me on the basis of knowledge if you are truthful" — meaning: produce a single revealed text. They had none.

The eight pairs are now complete: sheep, goats, camels, cows — male and female of each. Maududi calls this verse the climax of the whole argument. After demanding that the polytheists produce evidence and getting none, Allah strikes with a question that has no answer: "Or were you present when Allah enjoined this on you?" Since the answer is obviously no, the verdict follows: "Who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah to mislead people without knowledge?" Maududi underlines the principle: declaring halal what Allah did not declare halal, or haram what Allah did not declare haram, is among the gravest of sins — it is impersonating the Lawgiver. This verse, Maududi notes, applies just as forcefully to anyone who today invents religious rulings without textual evidence.

After exposing every fabrication, the Qur'an now states the actual divine list — and it is breathtakingly short. The Prophet ﷺ is commanded to say: "I find in what has been revealed to me nothing forbidden to one who would eat it, except…" Then four items: (1) carrion (an animal that died of itself, not slaughtered); (2) flowing blood (the blood spilled at slaughter, not the residual within the meat); (3) flesh of swine — Maududi notes the Qur'an's own reasoning: fa-innahu rijs ("for it is impurity"); (4) anything slaughtered in a name other than Allah's — i.e. dedicated to idols. Maududi notes the staggering contrast: the polytheists invented dozens of categories; Allah names four. And then mercy is built in: "whoever is forced by necessity, neither desiring nor transgressing" may eat — for your Lord is Forgiving, Merciful. This is the true law of halal and haram in food: short, principled, merciful — the exact opposite of priestcraft.