al-Dahhak, from Ibn 'Abbas, regarding His saying: "So take four of the birds," he said: "The birds which he took were: a goose, a bustard, a rooster, and a peacock." He said: "He took one from each species of bird." Minjab said: "The bustard (al-ral) is a young ostrich."

[The third interpretation]

2705 - My father narrated to us, Ahmad b. 'Amr b. al-Sarh reported to us, Ibn Wahb reported to us, Ibn Lahi'ah reported to us, from 'Abdullah b. Hubayrah al-Saba'i, from Hanash, from Ibn 'Abbas, regarding the saying of Allah: "So take four of the birds, and cut them [so that they might incline] to you," he said: "A crane (al-ghurnuq), a peacock, a rooster, and a pigeon." Abu Muhammad said: "The crane (al-ghurnuq) is the stork (al-karki)."

[His saying, the Exalted: "And cut them [so that they might incline] to you"]

[The first interpretation]

2706 - Abu Sa'id al-Ashajj narrated to us, 'Ubaydullah b. Musa reported to us, from Isra'il, from Abu Yahya, from Mujahid, from Ibn 'Abbas regarding "And cut them [so that they might incline] to you," he said: "Cut them into pieces."

2707 - Yunus b. Habib narrated to us, Abu Dawud reported to us, Shu'bah reported to us, Abu Jamrah informed me, I heard Ibn 'Abbas saying regarding His saying: "So take four of the birds, and cut them [so that they might incline] to you," he said: "This is like His saying: 'Four of the birds,' so cut them into quarters, every one of them is a quarter, then call them, and they will come to you in haste."

2708 - Abu Zur'ah narrated to us, Ibrahim b. Musa reported to us, Ibn Abi Za'idah informed us, Shu'bah informed us, from Abu Jamrah, his chain of narration is like it, and he added in it: "So cut their wings and place the pieces in the four quarters of the earth." It was narrated from Abu Malik, Sa'id b. Jubayr, Wahb b. Munabbih, Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, 'Ikrimah, al-Hasan, and al-Suddi similar to that.

[The second interpretation]

2709 - Muhammad b. Sa'd al-'Awfi informed us in what he wrote to me, my father narrated to us, my uncle al-Husayn reported to us, from his father, from his grandfather, from Ibn 'Abbas, regarding His saying: "So take four of the birds, and cut them [so that they might incline] to you," he said: "'Cut them' (surhunna): Bind them (awthiqhunna). When he had bound them, he slaughtered them, then place on every mountain a portion of them."