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 For he commands you what is evil and shameful, and that ye should say of Allah that of which ye have no knowledge. 169 And when it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has sent down”, they say, “On the contrary, we shall follow what we found our forefathers upon”; What! Even if their forefathers had no intelligence, or 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 of the good things wherewith We have provided you, and give thanks to God, if it be Him that you serve. 172 Allah has only forbidden you to eat what dies of itself, and blood and swine flesh and what has been consecrated to any other name than of Allah. But one will incur no sin if, forced by absolute necessity, he eats of any of these forbidden things, provided he has no intention of transgressing the law and does not take more than what is absolutely indispensable: for Allah is very Forgiving and very Merciful. 173 Those who conceal what of the Book God has sent down on them, and sell it for a little price - they shall eat naught but the Fire in their bellies; God shall not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection neither purify them; there awaits them a painful chastisement. 174 They are those who bartered away good guidance for error, and pardon for punishment: How great is their striving for the Fire 175 That is because God has revealed the Book containing the truth; but those who are at variance about it have gone astray in their contrariness. 176