Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:142

(And of the cattle, some for burden and some for slaughter): This begins the detailing of the state of the cattle and the refutation of what they fabricated against Allah the Exalted regarding them in terms of prohibition and permissibility. It is connected by conjunction to "gardens," and the unifying aspect is the permissibility of benefiting from both. The prepositional phrase is linked to the verb "has produced."

Hamula (burden) is that upon which one is carried; it has no singular form, similar to rakuba. It refers to the cattle that carry heavy loads. Farsh refers to that which is spread out for slaughter, or that which is woven and spread from its wool, hair, and fur. Abu Muslim and Al-Rabi’ ibn Anas leaned toward the first view, while Al-Jubba’i leaned toward the second. It is also said that hamula refers to the large ones fit for carrying, while farsh refers to the small ones that are close to the ground, like a spread-out rug. Ibn Mas’ud narrated this, but he (may Allah be pleased with him) specified it to large camels and their young; this is one of the narrations from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). In another narration, hamula refers to camels, horses, mules, and donkeys—everything upon which one is carried—while farsh refers to sheep.

(Eat of what Allah has provided for you): Meaning, eat some of what Allah the Exalted has provided for you, which is the lawful. Thus, min (from) is partitive. Provision (rizq) encompasses both the lawful and the unlawful, but the Mu’tazila restricted it to the lawful, as mentioned earlier in the beginning of the Book, and they claimed that this verse is one of their proofs for that. They constructed a syllogism whose components are easy to obtain: its premise is that the unlawful is not ritually edible and it is impure, while provision is that which is ritually edible; because of the saying of the Exalted, "(Eat of what Allah has provided for you)," the unlawful is not provision.

You know that this is only useful if every provision were necessarily ritually edible, but the verse does not indicate that. If it is partitive, the matter is clear; if it is initiatory, there is nothing in it that indicates the consumption of all of it. It is said that the meaning of the verse is: deem permissible the eating of what Allah has given you.

(And do not follow): in the matter of prohibition and permissibility, by imitating your ancestors who acted recklessly in that from their own selves and fabricated lies against Allah, (the footsteps of Satan): meaning his paths, for that is from them through his leading them astray and causing them to follow him. (Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy): meaning manifest in enmity; for he expelled Adam, peace be upon him, from Paradise and said: "(I will surely take possession of his offspring, except for a few)." May Allah the Exalted protect us and the Muslims from his evil; He is the Compassionate, the Merciful.

From the Chapter of Allusion in the Verses:

(And the day He will gather them all together): in the eye of absolute gathering, saying: "O assembly of the Jinn (i.e., the psychological powers), (you have multiplied in your dealings with mankind)": meaning with the senses and external limbs, or with human forms, by making them your followers through your leading them astray and adorning bodily pleasures for them. (And their allies among mankind will say, "Our Lord, we benefited from one another"): each of us benefited from the other in the form of human collectivity, (and we have reached our term which You appointed for us): through death or the Resurrection, in the ugliest of states and the worst of conditions. (He will say, "The Fire"): i.e., the fire of deprivation and the experience of pain, (is your residence, abiding eternally therein, except as Allah wills); and He does not will except what He knows, and He, the Exalted, does not know a thing except as it is in its own reality. (Indeed, your Lord is Wise): He does not punish you except through the states of your souls as dictated by wisdom; (Knowing): those states, so He punishes according to them. (And thus will We make some of the wrongdoers allies of others): We make some of them allies of others, or those like them in punishment, because of what they used to earn of sins according to their readiness.

(O company of Jinn and mankind, did there not come to you messengers from among you?): These are, according to many of the masters of allusion, the intellects; they are internal, essential messengers to those who possess them, validating the sending of other messengers, who are external messengers. Some Mu’tazila also interpreted the "messenger" in the saying of the Exalted, "And We never punish until We send a messenger," as the intellect. These questions and answers, and the testimonies, are all in the language of states and the manifestation of qualities. That is: if your Lord were not the one to destroy the cities (the bodies or hearts) with injustice while their people were unaware, rather, He warns them through the intellect and its guidance to establish the argument. And to Allah belongs the conclusive argument. To each are degrees and ranks in nearness and distance. Your Lord is Self-Sufficient by His essence from all other than Him, Possessor of the general, all-encompassing mercy; so He created the servants to benefit from Him, not to benefit from them. The "Self-Sufficient" for many points to the attribute of Majesty, and "Possessor of Mercy" to the attribute of Beauty. (If He wills, He can do away with you): due to His essential sufficiency from you, (and replace you with whatever He wills): from the people of His obedience, by His mercy. (Say: "Work according to your position"): i.e., your direction of readiness; (I am working according to my position): in that regard.

And He is the One who has produced in the hearts of His servants "gardens trellised," like the vineyard of love and affection, and "untrellised," which are the spiritual qualities upon which hearts were created, such as generosity, loyalty, chastity, forbearance, and courage. And the palm trees, i.e., the palms of faith; and the crops, i.e., the crops of righteous intentions; and the olives, i.e., the olives of sincerity; and the pomegranates, i.e., the pomegranates of the tree of inspiration. It is said: in everything else, and the door of interpretation is wide. (Eat of its fruit): which is the witnessing and unveilings when it bears fruit, (and give its due): to the seekers, which is guidance and good admonition, (on the day of its harvest): or that your arrival therein is at the station of stability and uprightness. (And do not be excessive): by concealing it from those who deserve it, or by starting to speak at the wrong time, or calling before its proper season. (Indeed, He does not like the excessive): He does not approve of their action.

"Of the cattle," i.e., the powers of man: "Hamula," that which is prepared to carry the Trust and the burdens of the Sharia; "and Farsh," that which is prepared for the rectification of the heart and the standing of human existence. "Eat of what Allah has provided for you," which is varied: the provision of the heart is realization through demonstration; the provision of the spirit is love with sincere avoidance of the universes; and the provision of the secret is witnessing the gnosis through direct vision. (And do not follow the footsteps of Satan): by inclining towards fleeting desires and being veiled by the "other." (Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy): he wants to veil you from your Lord. And Allah the Exalted is the Granter of success for the path of rectitude.