Mushaf View — Surah 2 2:169

The Order to eat the Lawful Things, and the Prohibition of following the Footsteps of Shaytan
After Allah stated that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him and that He Alone created the creation, He stated that He is the Sustainer for all His creation, and He mentioned a favor that He granted them; He has allowed them to eat any of the pure lawful things on the earth that do not cause harm to the body or the mind. He also forbade them from following the footsteps of Shaytan, meaning his ways and methods with which he misguides his followers, like prohibiting the Bahirah (a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it), or Sa'ibah (a she-camel let loose for free pasture for the idols and nothing was allowed to be carried on it), or a Wasilah (a she-camel set free for idols because it has given birth to a she-camel at its first delivery and then again gives birth to a she-camel at its second delivery), and all of the other things that Shaytan made attractive to them during the time of Jahiliyyah. Muslim recorded `Iyad bin Himar saying that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said that Allah the Exalted says,
يَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالَى:إِنَّ كُلَّ مَالٍ مَنَحْتُهُ عِبَادِي فَهُوَ لَهُمْ حَلَالٌ، وَفِيهِ وَإِنِّي خَلَقْتُ عِبَادِي حُنَفَاءَ، فَجَاءَتْهُمُ الشَّيَاطِينُ فَاجْتَالَتْهُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِمْ، وَحَرَّمَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا أَحْلَلْتُ لَهُم»
(`Every type of wealth I have endowed My servants is allowed for them...' (until), `I have created My servants Hunafa' (pure or upright), but the devils came to them and led them astray from their (true) religion and prohibited them from what I allowed for them. ')
Allah said:
إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ
(...he is to you an open enemy.)
warning against Satan. Allah said in another instance:
إِنَّ الشَّيْطَـنَ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ فَاتَّخِذُوهُ عَدُوّاً إِنَّمَا يَدْعُو حِزْبَهُ لِيَكُونُواْ مِنْ أَصْحَـبِ السَّعِيرِ
(Surely, Shaytan is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers) that they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire.) (35:6), and:
أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِى وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ بِئْسَ لِلظَّـلِمِينَ بَدَلاً
(Will you then take him (Iblis) and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you What an evil is the exchange for the Zalimin (polytheists, and wrongdoers, etc).) (18:50)
Qatadah and As-Suddi commented on what Allah said:
وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَتِ الشَّيْطَـنِ
(...and follow not the footsteps of Shaytan (Satan)):
Every act of disobedience to Allah is among the footsteps of Satan.
`Abd bin Humayd reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "Any vow or oath that one makes while angry, is among the footsteps of Shaytan and its expiation is that of the vow. " Allah's statement:
إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُكُم بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَآءِ وَأَن تَقُولُواْ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
(He (Satan) commands you only what is evil and Fahsha (sinful), and that you should say about Allah what you know not.)
The verse means: `Your enemy, Satan, commands you to commit evil acts and what is worse than that, such as adultery and so forth. He commands you to commit what is even worse, that is, saying about Allah without knowledge.' So this includes every innovator and disbeliever.

(He) the devil (enjoineth upon you only the evil) evil works (and the foul) transgressions, (and that ye should tell) lies (concerning Allah that which ye know not).

he only commands you to evil sin and indecency what is abhorred by the Law and that you should speak against God what you do not know such as forbidding what He has not forbidden and otherwise.

The word ‘su' in السُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَاءِ means something which bothers somebody good and reasonable. The word fahsha covers what is immodest. Some commentators have said that su' here signifies sin as such, and fahsha' فَاحْشَا signifies major sins.
The expression إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُ‌كُم (innama ya'murukum: he only orders you' ) means instigating a suggestion in the heart. The meaning can be seen more clearly in a hadith from the blessed Companion ` Abdullah ibn Masud ؓ who said that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: The son of Adam آدم is influenced by a suggestion from the Satan شیطان and a suggestion from the angel. The Satanic suggestion has the effect of bringing forth the expedient gains in evil deeds and thereby opening the avenues of negating the truth, while the angelic suggestion promises reward and success for good deeds and leaves the happy effect of a heart in peace at its attestation of the truth."

What is polytheism? It is the worship of something other than God in order to satisfy one’s feelings of devotion and veneration. God is the greatest and most essential need of man. The urge to worship God is so integral to human nature that no one can live without Him. Man’s going astray does not mean that he abandons God altogether. What actually happens is that the real God is replaced by a false god. That is why the Islamic law holds unlawful all those things which, in any degree, lead to deviation, i.e. diverting man’s natural desire for God in some other direction. The polytheists set certain animals free in the name of their deities. These animals are not used for food or service. This is akin to according divinity to an object; a divinity which is a prerogative of none save God. It is akin to diluting man’s natural feelings of reverence and devotions meant only for God, and which should be exclusively reserved for God alone. Satan encourages human beings to channelise their feelings of awe and reverence on to different paths in order that their attachment to God may be weakened.