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Ayah
Word by Word
وَقَالُواْ
And they say
هَٰذِهِۦٓ
These
أَنۡعَٰمٞ
cattle
وَحَرۡثٌ
and crops
حِجۡرٞ
(are) forbidden
لَّا
no (one)
يَطۡعَمُهَآ
can eat them
إِلَّا
except
مَن
whom
نَّشَآءُ
we will
بِزَعۡمِهِمۡ
by their claim
وَأَنۡعَٰمٌ
And cattle
حُرِّمَتۡ
forbidden
ظُهُورُهَا
(are) their backs
وَأَنۡعَٰمٞ
and cattle
لَّا
not
يَذۡكُرُونَ
they mention
ٱسۡمَ
(the) name
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
عَلَيۡهَا
on it
ٱفۡتِرَآءً
(as) an invention
عَلَيۡهِۚ
against Him
سَيَجۡزِيهِم
He will recompense them
بِمَا
for what
كَانُواْ
they used to
يَفۡتَرُونَ
invent
وَقَالُواْ
And they say
هَٰذِهِۦٓ
These
أَنۡعَٰمٞ
cattle
وَحَرۡثٌ
and crops
حِجۡرٞ
(are) forbidden
لَّا
no (one)
يَطۡعَمُهَآ
can eat them
إِلَّا
except
مَن
whom
نَّشَآءُ
we will
بِزَعۡمِهِمۡ
by their claim
وَأَنۡعَٰمٌ
And cattle
حُرِّمَتۡ
forbidden
ظُهُورُهَا
(are) their backs
وَأَنۡعَٰمٞ
and cattle
لَّا
not
يَذۡكُرُونَ
they mention
ٱسۡمَ
(the) name
ٱللَّهِ
(of) Allah
عَلَيۡهَا
on it
ٱفۡتِرَآءً
(as) an invention
عَلَيۡهِۚ
against Him
سَيَجۡزِيهِم
He will recompense them
بِمَا
for what
كَانُواْ
they used to
يَفۡتَرُونَ
invent
Translation
And they say that such and such cattle and crops are taboo, and none should eat of them except those whom - so they say - We wish; further, there are cattle forbidden to yoke or burden, and cattle on which, (at slaughter), the name of Allah is not pronounced; - inventions against Allah's name: soon will He requite them for their inventions.
Tafsir
They say, 'These cattle and tillage are sacrosanct, forbidden. No one is to eat of them except whom we will', from among the retainers of the graven images and others - so they assert, in other words, they have no [convincing] argument for it - 'and cattle whose backs have been forbidden, and cannot therefore be ridden, such as the camels [they call] Saa'ibas or Haamees, and cattle over which they do not invoke the Name of God', when they slaughter them, invoking instead the names of their idols, ascribing such [rules] to God; forging lies against Him. He will assuredly requite them for what they used to fabricate, against Him.
Some Acts of Shirk
Allah chastises and criticizes the idolators who invented innovations, Kufr and Shirk, and called on partners and rivals with Allah among His creation, although He created every thing, all praise is due to Him. This is why Allah said,
وَجَعَلُواۡ لِلّهِ مِمِّا ذَرَأَ
And they assign to Allah from that which He has created,
مِنَ الۡحَرۡثِ
of the tilth,
meaning, fruits and produce,
وَالَانۡعَامِ نَصِيبًا
and of the cattle a share,
meaning a part and a section.
فَقَالُواۡ هَـذَا لِلّهِ بِزَعۡمِهِمۡ وَهَـذَا لِشُرَكَأيِنَا
and they say:This is for Allah, according to their claim, and this is for our partners.
Allah said next,
فَمَا كَانَ لِشُرَكَأيِهِمۡ فَلَ يَصِلُ إِلَى اللّهِ وَمَا كَانَ لِلّهِ فَهُوَ يَصِلُ إِلَى شُرَكَأيِهِمۡ
But the share of their partners reaches not Allah, while the share of Allah reaches their partners!
Ali bin Abi Talhah and Al-Awfi narrated that Ibn Abbas said;
When they, the enemies of Allah, would cultivate the land or collect produce, they would assign a part of it to Allah and another part to the idol. They would keep the share for the idol, whether land, produce or anything else, and preserve its division to such an extent that they would collect anything that accidentally falls from the share they assigned to Allah and add it to the share of the idol. If the water that they assigned for the idol irrigated something (a section of land, for instance) that they assigned for Allah, they would add whatever this water irrigated to the idol's share! If the land or produce that they assigned for Allah was accidentally mixed with the share that they assigned for the idol, they would say that the idol is poor. Therefore, they would add it to the share they assigned for the idol and would not return it to the share they assigned for Allah. If the water that they assigned for Allah irrigated what they assigned for the idol they would leave it (the produce) for the idol. They also made some of their other property sacred, like the Bahirah, Sa'ibah, Wasilah and Ham, assigning them to the idols, claiming that they do so as way of seeking a means of approach to Allah. Allah said,
وَجَعَلُواۡ لِلّهِ مِمِّا ذَرَأَ مِنَ الۡحَرۡثِ وَالَانۡعَامِ نَصِيبًا
(And they assign to Allah a share of the tilth and cattle which He has created...).
Similar was said by Mujahid, Qatadah, As-Suddi and others.
Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam commented;
Every type of slaughter that they would assign for Allah, would never be eaten unless they mentioned the names of their idols when slaughtering it. Yet for what they sacrificed in the names of the idols, they would not mention Allah's Name when slaughtering it.
He then recited the Ayah (6:136) until he reached,
سَاء مَا يَحۡكُمُونَ
Evil is the way they judge!
This Ayah means, evil is that which they determined, for they committed error in the division. Certainly, Allah is the Lord, Owner and Creator of all things and His is the dominion. All things are His property and under His supreme control, will and decree. There is no deity worthy of worship, or Lord, except Him. And even when the polytheists made this evil division, they did not preserve it, but cheated in it.
Allah said in other Ayat,
وَيَجۡعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ الۡبَنَـتِ سُبۡحَانَهُ وَلَهُمۡ مَّا يَشۡتَهُونَ
And they assign daughters unto Allah -- glory be to Him -- and unto themselves what they desire. (16:57)
and,
وَجَعَلُواۡ لَهُ مِنۡ عِبَادِهِ جُزۡءًا إِنَّ الانسَـنَ لَكَفُورٌ مُّبِينٌ
Yet, they assign to some of His servants a share with Him. Verily, man is indeed a manifest ingrate! (43:15)
and,
أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الاٍّنثَى
تِلۡكَ إِذاً قِسۡمَةٌ ضِيزَى
Is it for you the males and for Him the females! That indeed is a division most unfair! (53:21-22)
Shaytan Lured the Idolators to Kill Their Children
Allah says,
وَكَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِّنَ الۡمُشۡرِكِينَ قَتۡلَ أَوۡلَادِهِمۡ شُرَكَأوُهُمۡ لِيُرۡدُوهُمۡ وَلِيَلۡبِسُواۡ عَلَيۡهِمۡ دِينَهُمۡ
And so to many of the idolators, their partners have made fair seeming the killing of their children, in order to lead them to their own destruction and cause confusion in their religion.
Allah says, just as the Shayatin lured the idolators to assign a share for Allah from what He created of agriculture and cattle - and a share for the idols, they also made it seem fair for them to kill their children, for fear of poverty, and burying their daughters alive, for fear of dishonor.
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn Abbas that he commented;
وَكَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِّنَ الۡمُشۡرِكِينَ قَتۡلَ أَوۡلَادِهِمۡ شُرَكَأوُهُمۡ
(And so to many of the idolators, their partners have made fair seeming the killing of their children...).
They make killing their children attractive to them.
Mujahid said,
Idolators' partners among the devils ordered them to bury their children for fear of poverty.
As-Suddi said,
The devils commanded them to kill their daughters so that they,
لِيُرۡدُوهُمۡ
(lead them to their own destruction), and to,
وَلِيَلۡبِسُواۡ عَلَيۡهِمۡ دِينَهُمۡ
(cause confusion in their religion).
Allah said,
وَلَوۡ شَاء اللّهُ مَا فَعَلُوهُ
And if Allah had willed, they would not have done so.
meaning, all this occurred by Allah's leave, will and decree, but He dislikes these practices, and He has the perfect wisdom in every decree. He is never questioned about what He does, but they all will be questioned.
فَذَرۡهُمۡ وَمَا يَفۡتَرُونَ
So leave them alone with their fabrications.
meaning, avoid and abandon them and what they do, for Allah will judge between you and them.
The Idolators Forbade Certain Types of Cattle
Allah says;
وَقَالُواۡ هَـذِهِ أَنۡعَامٌ وَحَرۡثٌ حِجۡرٌ لاَّ يَطۡعَمُهَا إِلاَّ مَن نّشَاء بِزَعۡمِهِمۡ
And according to their claim, they say that such and such cattle and crops are Hijr (forbidden), and none should eat of them except those whom we allow.
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said,
Hijr refers to what they forbade, such as the Wasilah, and the like.
Similar was said by Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi, Qatadah, Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others.
Qatadah commented on,
وَقَالُواۡ هَـذِهِ أَنۡعَامٌ وَحَرۡثٌ حِجۡرٌ
(They say that such and such cattle and crops are Hijr),
It is a prohibition that the Shayatin appointed for their wealth, and a type of exaggeration and extremism that did not come from Allah.
Abdur-Rahman Ibn Zayd bin Aslam said that,
حِجۡرٌ
(Hijr) refers to what the idolators designated for their deities.
As-Suddi said that the Ayah,
لااَّ يَطۡعَمُهَا إِلااَّ مَن نّشَاء بِزَعۡمِهِمۡ
(And none should eat of them except those whom we allow, they claimed...),
means, They said, only those whom we choose can eat of them, and the rest are prohibited from eating them.
Similar to this honorable Ayah, Allah said,
قُلۡ أَرَأَيۡتُمۡ مَّأ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمۡ مِّن رِّزۡقٍ فَجَعَلۡتُمۡ مِّنۡهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلَلاً قُلۡ ءَاللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمۡ أَمۡ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَفۡتَرُونَ
Say:Tell me, what provision Allah has sent down to you! And you have made of it lawful and unlawful.
Say:Has Allah permitted you (to do so), or do you invent a lie against Allah! (10:59)
and,
مَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ مِن بَحِيرَةٍ وَلَا سَأيِبَةٍ وَلَا وَصِيلَةٍ وَلَا حَامٍ وَلَـكِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواۡ يَفۡتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الۡكَذِبَ وَأَكۡثَرُهُمۡ لَا يَعۡقِلُونَ
Allah has not instituted things like Bahirah or a Sa'ibah or a Wasilah or a Ham. But those who disbelieve invent lies against Allah, and most of them have no understanding. (5:103)
As-Suddi said that;
cattle forbidden to be used for burden were the Bahirah, Sa'ibah, Wasilah and Ham, as well as cattle for which the idolators did not mention Allah's Name when slaughtering them nor when they were born.
Abu Bakr bin Ayyash said that Asim bin Abi An-Najud said,
Abu Wa'il said to me, `Do you know the meaning of the Ayah,
وَأَنۡعَامٌ حُرِّمَتۡ ظُهُورُهَا
وَأَنۡعَامٌ لاَّ يَذۡكُرُونَ اسۡمَ اللّهِ عَلَيۡهَا
And (they say) there are cattle forbidden to be used for burden, and cattle on which the Name of Allah is not pronounced.
I said, `No.'
He said, `It is the Bahirah, which they would not use to for Hajj (either by riding it or carrying things on it).'
Mujahid also said that;
they were some of the camels belonging to idolators on which Allah's Name was not mentioned when riding, milking, carrying things, copulation or any other action.
افۡتِرَاء عَلَيۡهِ
lying against Him.
against Allah.
The idolators indeed lied when they attributed this evil to Allah's religion and Law; He did not allow them to do that nor did He approve of it.
سَيَجۡزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُواۡ يَفۡتَرُونَ
He will recompense them for what they used to fabricate.
against Him, and falsely attribute to Him
Allah says;
وَقَالُواۡ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانۡعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَى أَزۡوَاجِنَا وَإِن يَكُن مَّيۡتَةً فَهُمۡ فِيهِ شُرَكَاء
سَيَجۡزِيهِمۡ وَصۡفَهُمۡ
And they say:What is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females, but if it is born dead, then all have shares therein. He will punish them for their attribution (of such false orders to Allah).
Abu Ishaq As-Subayi narrated that Abdullah bin Abi Al-Hudhayl reported that Ibn Abbas said that,
وَقَالُواۡ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانۡعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا
(And they say:What is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone...),
refers to milk.
Awfi said that Ibn Abbas said about this Ayah,
وَقَالُواۡ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانۡعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا
(And they say:What is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone...),
It is about milk, which they prohibited for their females and allowed only their males to drink. When a sheep would give birth to a male sheep, they would slaughter it and feed it to their males, but not to their females. If the newly born lamb was a female, they would not slaughter it, but if it was stillborn, they would share in it (with their females)! Allah forbade this practice.
Similar was said by As-Suddi.
Ash-Shabi said,
The Bahirah's milk was only given to the men. But if any cattle from the Bahirah died, both men and women would share in eating it. Similar was said by Ikrimah, Qatadah and Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.
Mujahid commented;
وَقَالُواۡ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانۡعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَى أَزۡوَاجِنَا
(And they say:What is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females...),
It refers to the Sa'ibah and the Bahirah.
Abu Al-Aliyah, Mujahid and Qatadah said that Allah's statement,
سَيَجۡزِيهِمۡ وَصۡفَهُمۡ
(He will punish them for their attribution) means,
uttering such falsehood.
This is explained by Allah's statement,
وَلَا تَقُولُواۡ لِمَا تَصِفُ أَلۡسِنَتُكُمُ الۡكَذِبَ هَـذَا حَلَـلٌ وَهَـذَا حَرَامٌ لِّتَفۡتَرُواۡ عَلَى اللَّهِ الۡكَذِبَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفۡتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الۡكَذِبَ لَا يُفۡلِحُونَ
And say not concerning that which your tongues falsely utter:This is lawful and this is forbidden. so as to invent lies against Allah. Verily, those who invent lies against Allah will never prosper. (16:116)
Allah said,
إِنَّهُ حِكِيمٌ
Verily, He is All-Wise,
in His actions, statements, Law and decree.
عَلِيمٌ
All-Knower.
in the actions of His servants, whether good or evil, and He will recompense them for these deeds completely
Allah says that those who committed these evil acts have earned the loss of this life and the Hereafter
Allah says;
قَدۡ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ قَتَلُواۡ أَوۡلَادَهُمۡ سَفَهًا بِغَيۡرِ عِلۡمٍ وَحَرَّمُواۡ مَا رَزَقَهُمُ اللّهُ افۡتِرَاء عَلَى اللّهِ
قَدۡ ضَلُّواۡ وَمَا كَانُواۡ مُهۡتَدِينَ
Indeed lost are they who have killed their children, foolishly, without knowledge, and (they) have forbidden that which Allah has provided for them, inventing a lie against Allah. They have indeed gone astray and were not guided.
As for this life, they lost when they killed their children and made it difficult for themselves by prohibiting some types of their wealth, as an act of innovation that they invented on their own. As for the Hereafter, they will end up in the worst dwellings, because they used to lie about Allah and invent falsehood about Him.
Allah also said,
قُلۡ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفۡتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الۡكَذِبَ لَا يُفۡلِحُونَ
مَتَـعٌ فِى الدُّنۡيَا ثُمَّ إِلَيۡنَا مَرۡجِعُهُمۡ ثُمَّ نُذِيقُهُمُ الۡعَذَابَ الشَّدِيدَ بِمَا كَانُواۡ يَكۡفُرُونَ
Say:Verily, those who invent a lie against Allah will never be successful. (A brief) enjoyment in this world! And then unto Us will be their return, then We shall make them taste the severest torment because they used to disbelieve. (10:69-70)
Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr bin Marduwyah recorded that Ibn Abbas commented,
If it pleases you to know how ignorant the Arabs used to be, then recite the Ayat beyond Ayah one hundred and thirty in Surah Al-An`am,
قَدۡ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ قَتَلُواۡ أَوۡلَادَهُمۡ.
وَمَا كَانُواۡ مُهۡتَدِينَ
Indeed lost are they who have killed their children, foolishly, without knowledge, and (they) have forbidden that which Allah has provided for them, inventing a lie against Allah. They have indeed gone astray and were not guided.
Al-Bukhari also recorded this in the section of his Sahih on the virtues of the Quraysh.
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