119 Preface وَلَأُضِلَّنَّهُم وَلَأُمَنِّيَنَّهُم وَلَآمُرَنَّهُم فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ آذانَ الأَنعامِ وَلَآمُرَنَّهُم فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلقَ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّخِذِ الشَّيطانَ وَلِيًّا مِن دونِ اللَّهِ فَقَد خَسِرَ خُسرانًا مُبينًاAli Quli Qaraiand I will lead them astray and give them [false] hopes, and prompt them to slit the ears of cattle,1 and I will prompt them to alter Allah’s creation.’ Whoever takes Satan as a guardian instead of Allah has certainly incurred a manifest loss. This refers to the pagan practice of slitting the ears of camels as a sign of their dedication to pagan deities.