O MANKIND! Partake of what is lawful and good on earth, and follow not Satan's footsteps: for, verily, he is your open foe, 168 and bids you only to do evil, and to commit deeds of abomination, and to attribute unto God something of which you have no knowledge. 169 When it is said to them: "Follow what Allah hath revealed:" They say: "Nay! we shall follow the ways of our fathers." What! even though their fathers Were void of wisdom and guidance? 170 And so, the parable of those who are bent on denying the truth is that of the beast which hears the shepherd's cry, and hears in it nothing but the sound of a voice and a call. Deaf are they, and dumb, and blind: for they do not use their reason. 171 O believers, eat what is good of the food We have given you, and be grateful to God, if indeed you are obedient to Him. 172 He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. 173 Those who hide the Book sent down by Allah and exchange it for an abject price – they only fill their bellies with fire and Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection nor will He purify them; and for them is a painful punishment. 174 They are the people who have bartered away Guidance for error and Allah's pardon for His punishment. How audacious they are: they are ready even to endure the fire of Hell. 175 That is because God has sent down the Book with the truth. And those who pursue differences in the Scriptures go much too far in dissension. 176