Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:141

(And He is the One who produced gardens, trellised...) This is an introduction to the details of conditions that will follow regarding cattle. The Imam stated: It is a return to the original intended purpose, which is the establishment of proofs to confirm monotheism; meaning, He is the One who created and brought forth those gardens without anyone participating in that in any way.

"Trellised" (ma'rushat) refers to grapevines that are carried upon a trellis, which are wooden supports made like a roof upon which the vines are placed. (And [gardens] not trellised...) These are grapevines that are laid out upon the face of the earth. This is the opinion of those who say that both the trellised and the untrellised refer to grapevines.

Abu Muslim said: The trellised is what requires a structure to be made for it to support it, such as grapevines and the like; and the untrellised is that which stands on its own, independent by its uprightness and the strength of its stalk from needing a trellis. In a narration from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—the trellised is what is found in orchards and cultivated areas which people plant, and the untrellised is what grows in wildernesses and mountains. It has been said: The trellised is the grapevines for which a trellis is made, and the untrellised is everything that grows spread out on the face of the earth, such as pumpkins and watermelons.

Isam al-Din said: It is not far-fetched that the trellised refers to what is naturally supported, like trees that grow tall, and the untrellised is what spreads upon the face of the earth, like grapevines. His saying, the Exalted: (And the date palms and the crops...) is a specification after a generalization; it is a conjunction to "gardens," meaning He produced both of them varying in form and quality.

(Varying in their food [uklihi]...) meaning their fruit from which one eats. Ibn Kathir and Nafi’ read it as uklihi with a quiescent kaf (consonant), which is a linguistic variant as suggested by the words of al-Raghib. The pronoun [in uklihi] either refers to one of the conjoined items specifically—with the ruling of the other known through analogy—or to each one individually, or to the entirety, with the pronoun acting as a demonstrative noun. Abu Hayyan stated that the pronoun cannot be singular when conjoined with "and" (waw); therefore, the outward meaning is that it returns to the nearest mentioned noun, which is "the crops," and the condition of the date palms is omitted because the state of the crops acts as an indicator for it. The estimation is: "The date palms, varying in their food, and the crops, varying in their food." He permitted another possibility, which is that the speech contains an implied genitive (idafa) and the pronoun refers to it, i.e., "the fruit of the gardens." The state [of variation] is in all cases estimated, as there is no variation at the time of inception.

Abu al-Baqa claimed that it is such if no genitive is estimated (i.e., the fruit of the palms and the grain of the crops), and the state is contemporaneous if estimated.

(And the olives and the pomegranates...) i.e., He produced them (similar and dissimilar...) meaning some of their individual instances are similar in color, taste, or form, and some are not similar. Ibn al-Mundhir and Abu al-Shaykh narrated from Ibn Jurayj that he said: "Similar in appearance, and dissimilar in taste." The accusative case (nasb) is for the state (hal).

(Eat of their fruit...) This is a command of permission, as has been stated by more than one scholar. (When they bear fruit...) Even if they have not yet ripened or matured. The benefit of this restriction is the permission to eat before reaching full maturity. It is also said its benefit is the owner's license to eat from it before the right of Allah, the Exalted, has been discharged, and this is the choice of al-Jubba’i and others.

(And give its due [haqqahu] on the day of its harvest...) This refers to what Allah, the Exalted, has obligated regarding it. According to the narration of ‘Ata from Ibn Abbas, it is a tenth or a half-tenth, and to this held al-Hasan, Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib, Qatadah, Tawus, and others. The adverbial phrase is a constraint for the obligation indicated by the command's form, not for the event indicated by its root, for the payment is not at the time of harvest while the grain is in the ear, as the literal reading might suggest, but rather after cleaning and refining. Ali ibn Isa claimed that the adverbial phrase relates to the "due" itself, so it does not need the aforementioned interpretation.

In another narration from the "Scholar" (Ibn Abbas), it is what one used to give in charity on the day of harvest as an obligation without a specified amount, which was then abrogated by [the formal] Zakat. Sa’id ibn Jubayr, al-Rabi’ ibn Anas, and others held this view. It is said: It is not possible for it to mean the mandatory Zakat, because that was ordained in Medina, and the Surah is Meccan. The Imam answered this by saying: We do not concede that Zakat was not obligatory in Mecca, and the fact that its verses are Medinan does not prove that; furthermore, it has been said that this verse is also Medinan.

Al-Sha’bi said: This is a right in wealth other than Zakat. Ibn Mansur, Ibn al-Mundhir, and others narrated from Mujahid that he said regarding this verse: "When you harvest and the poor are present, throw some of the stalks to them; when you thresh it and the poor are present, throw some to them; then, when you have winnowed it and gathered it and determined its measurement, set aside its Zakat."

Ibn Kathir, Nafi’, Hamzah, and al-Kisa’i read hisadihi with a kasrah on the ha, which is a linguistic variant. It deviated from hasdihi (the famous verbal noun) to hisadihi to indicate a specific harvest: the harvest of crops when it is finished and its time has come, as Sibawayh explicitly stated and al-Raghib signaled.

(And do not commit excess...) meaning do not overstep the limit by opening your hands completely in giving. Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibn Jurayj that he said: It was revealed regarding Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas, who had date palms and said: "No one shall come today except that I feed him." He fed until evening, and he had no fruit left, so Allah, the Exalted, revealed this. A similar account is narrated from Abu al-Aliyah.

Abu Muslim said that the meaning is: Do not exceed limits in eating before the harvest, so as not to lead to diminishing the right of the poor. Abd al-Razzaq narrated from Ibn al-Musayyib that the meaning is: Do not withhold charity, and thus disobey. Al-Zuhri said: The meaning is: Do not spend in the disobedience of Allah, the Exalted. A similar view is narrated from Mujahid, as Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from him that he said: "If Abu Qays had gold and a man spent it in the obedience of Allah, he would not be an excess-committer; but if he spent one dirham in the disobedience of Allah, he would be an excess-committer." Muqatil said: The meaning is: Do not associate the idols in the harvest and the cattle.

The address in all these statements is to the owners of wealth. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Zayd ibn Aslam that the address is to the authorities—meaning: do not take what is not yours by right and harm the owners of wealth. Al-Tabarsi preferred that it is an address to everyone, the owners of wealth and the authorities—meaning: the owner of wealth should not commit excess in giving, nor should the Imam commit excess in taking and distributing.

(Indeed, He does not love those who commit excess.) Rather, He dislikes them by virtue of their excess and will punish them for it if He, the Exalted in His majesty, so wills.