حُنَفَاءَ لِلَّهِ غَيْرَ مُشْرِكِينَ بِهِ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ الطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِي بِهِ الرِّيحُ فِي مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ (31)
(22:31) And the cattle have been made lawful for you *55 except what has already been mentioned to you *56 ; therefore guard yourselves against the filth of idols, *57 and refrain from all false things. *58 Become Allah's sincere servants, turning away from everything and without associating any partner with Him, for the one who associates a partner with Allah, becomes like him who has fallen from heaven. Then either the birds will snatch him away or the wind will blow him off to a place where he will be shattered into pieces. *59
*55) "And the cattle have been made lawful for you ...." has been cited here for two objects:
(1) It is to refute the custom of the Quraish under which certain cattle-bahirah. saibah, wasilah and ham-were considered unlawful. They are being told that these are also lawful like other cattle.
(2) It is not unlawful as was held by the Quraish to eat the flesh of the cattle even in the state of "Ihram".
*56) This refers to VI: 145 and XVI: 11S in which Allah has forbidden the Muslims to eat what dies of itself, blood, flesh of swine or what has been slaughtered in any name other than Allah's.
*57) That is, "Refrain from and guard against the worship of idols just as you avoid filthy and dirty things".
*58) Though the expression "false things" is general and implies lies, false evidence, calumny, etc., here it particularly refers to those false creeds, rites, and rituals and superstitious things on which kufr and shirk have been founded. It is obvious that there is no greater lie than associating others with Allah in His Being, Attributes, Powers and Rights. It was a falsehood to make bahirah, etc. unlawful. . See also XVI :116.
To take a false oath and give a false evidence also come under this Commandment. A Tradition from the Holy Prophet says:
"A false evidence is equal to shirk with Allah." That is why according to the Islamic Law, a false witness should be punished and disgraced. Imams Abu Yusuf and Muhammad have expressed the opinion that a person who brings a false witness in the court should be publicly exposed and sentenced to a long imprisonment. This was the actual practice in the time of Hadrat `Umar. According to Makhul, he said:
"Such a person should be whipped, his head shaved and face blackened and he should be sentenced to a long imprisonment."
'Abdullah bin `Amir has reported from his father that a person's false evidence was established in Hadrat `Umar's court, whereupon the Caliph kept him exposed to public for a day, saying that he was so and so and a false witness so that people might recognize him, and then he imprisoned him. These days this can be done by publishing the culprit's name in the newspapers, etc.
*59) In this parable "heaven" means the original human nature. Man by nature is the servant of none else but AIIah and inherently accepts the Doctrine of Tauhid. That is why the one who follows the guidance of the Prophets becomes firm in these dictates of his nature and soars higher and higher. On the other hand, the one who rejects Allah or associates a partner with Him falls down from the "heaven"of his nature. Then he either becomes a victim of satans and evil leaders like the birds of the parable, which snatch away the fallen man, or he becomes a slave of his lusts, passions, whims, etc., which have been likened to the wind i' the parable. They lower him down from one wrong position to the other till he falls into the deepest abyss of degradation.