Al-An'am: (120) "And leave the apparent sin and the hidden..."

"And leave the apparent sin and the hidden," meaning what is made public and what is kept secret, as stated by Mujahid, Qatadah, and al-Rabi' ibn Anas. Or, it means what is committed by the limbs and what is committed by the heart, as stated by al-Jubba'i. Or, it refers to marrying those whom fathers had married and the like, versus fornication with non-related women, as narrated from Ibn Jubayr. Or, it refers to fornication in brothels and taking lovers, as narrated from al-Dahhak and al-Suddi. It has been narrated that the people of the Age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) believed that fornication was a sin if committed openly, but if one kept it secret, there was no sin in it.

Al-Tayyibi said: According to this latter interpretation, the conjunction is intended as a consequence resulting from not following [the truth]. According to the first interpretation, it is an interjection serving as emphasis for His, glory be to Him, saying: "So eat of that..." first, and "And do not eat..." second. This is the preferred view, and perhaps the command in the preceding interpretation is likewise.

"Indeed, those who earn sin," meaning: those who perform acts of disobedience that contain sin, and who commit atrocities, whether apparent or hidden, "will be recompensed for what they used to commit," meaning: they earn sin regardless of its nature, and therefore it is necessary to abstain from all of it. This sentence serves as the reason (ta'lil) for the command.