Surah Al-An'am Verse 138 - Read, Listen, Translation, English : And they say, "These animals and crops are forbidden; no…

Al-An'am · 138/165

Translation Transliteration — Al-An'am

وَقَالُوا هَٰذِهِ أَنْعَامٌ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌ لَّا يَطْعَمُهَا إِلَّا مَن نَّشَاءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَأَنْعَامٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَامٌ لَّا يَذْكُرُونَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا افْتِرَاءً عَلَيْهِ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ ۝١٣٨

🔤 Transliteration

Wa qaaloo haaziheee an`aamunw wa harsun hijrun laa yat`amuhaaa illaa man nashaaa`u biza`mihim wa an`aamun hurrimat zuhooruhaa wa an`aamul laa yazkuroonas mal laahi `alaihaf tiraaa`an `alaih; sa yajzeehim bimaa kaanoo yaftaroon

📖 Translation (English Meaning)

📖 English Meaning

And they say, "These animals and crops are forbidden; no one may eat from them except whom we will," by their claim. And there are those [camels] whose backs are forbidden [by them] and those upon which the name of Allah is not mentioned - [all of this] an invention of untruth about Him. He will punish them for what they were inventing.

🌐 Additional reference in Français

📖 Ayah 📜 Tafsir 📚 Al-Waseet 🔤 Ayah (I'rab)

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Translation — Tafsir

Word Meanings:

An'am (أَنْعَامٌ): Livestock, specifically camels, cattle, and sheep.
Harth (حَرْثٌ): Cultivated land or crops.
Hijr (حِجْرٌ): Forbidden or sacred; something set apart and made unlawful.
Bi za'mihim (بِزَعْمِهِمْ): According to their false claim or assumption.
Hurrimat zuhuruha (حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا): Their backs were made forbidden, meaning they could not be ridden or used for carrying loads.
Iftira'an (افْتِرَاءً): Fabrication, falsehood, or lying against someone.

Tafsir (Explanation):

The polytheists of Arabia had invented a set of superstitious and oppressive rules regarding their livestock and crops, attributing them falsely to Allah. They would designate certain animals and fields as *hijr* — meaning sacred and untouchable — and then claim that no one could eat from them except those whom they themselves permitted, such as their temple servants and select men. This was purely their own invention, with no divine authority whatsoever.

Furthermore, they declared certain animals as having their backs *forbidden* — these were the *bahirah*, *sa'ibah*, and *hami* — animals that could not be ridden, milked, or used for carrying burdens. They also had other animals upon which they would not mention the name of Allah at the time of slaughter; instead, they would dedicate them to their idols and slaughter them in the names of their false deities.

All of this was nothing but sheer fabrication against Allah. They claimed these prohibitions came from Him, yet Allah had revealed no such thing. This was a grave sin — attributing lies to the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

The verse concludes with a powerful promise of divine justice: Allah will certainly recompense them for their lies and fabrications. He knows every false claim they made and every innovation they introduced into His religion, and nothing escapes His knowledge or His justice.

A Da'wah Reflection:

This verse teaches us a profound lesson about the sanctity of religion and the danger of inventing rules in Allah's name. These people were not merely making personal choices — they were attributing their own desires and superstitions to Allah, which is a form of shirk in legislation and worship.

How beautiful is the pure, unadulterated religion of Islam! It frees humanity from such oppressive and arbitrary restrictions. In Islam, all good and lawful things are made permissible, and only what is truly harmful is prohibited — and even then, only by clear divine revelation. There is no room for human invention in matters of halal and haram.

This verse also reminds us of Allah's perfect justice. No one who spreads lies about Allah — whether in ancient Arabia or in our times — will escape His reckoning. But for those who submit to Allah's true guidance, there is liberation from superstition, freedom from oppression, and the sweetness of worshiping Allah as He truly revealed. Let us be grateful for the complete and perfect religion of Islam, and let us always be careful not to attribute to Allah anything He has not commanded.

📜 Verse 136-140 — Al-An'am

136وَجَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ مِمَّا ذَرَأَ مِنَ الْحَرْثِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ نَصِيبًا فَقَالُوا هَٰذَا لِلَّهِ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَهَٰذَا لِشُرَكَائِنَا ۖ فَمَا كَانَ لِشُرَكَائِهِمْ فَلَا يَصِلُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَمَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ فَهُوَ يَصِلُ إِلَىٰ شُرَكَائِهِمْ ۗ سَاءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ

And the polytheists assign to Allah from that which He created of crops and livestock a share and say, "This is for Allah," by their claim, "and this is for our partners [associated with Him]." But what is for their "partners" does not reach Allah, while what is for Allah - this reaches their "partners." Evil is that which they rule.

137وَكَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ قَتْلَ أَوْلَادِهِمْ شُرَكَاؤُهُمْ لِيُرْدُوهُمْ وَلِيَلْبِسُوا عَلَيْهِمْ دِينَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا فَعَلُوهُ ۖ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ

And likewise, to many of the polytheists their partners have made [to seem] pleasing the killing of their children in order to bring about their destruction and to cover them with confusion in their religion. And if Allah had willed, they would not have done so. So leave them and that which they invent.

138وَقَالُوا هَٰذِهِ أَنْعَامٌ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌ لَّا يَطْعَمُهَا إِلَّا مَن نَّشَاءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَأَنْعَامٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَامٌ لَّا يَذْكُرُونَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا افْتِرَاءً عَلَيْهِ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ

139وَقَالُوا مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَٰذِهِ الْأَنْعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِنَا ۖ وَإِن يَكُن مَّيْتَةً فَهُمْ فِيهِ شُرَكَاءُ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ

And they say, "What is in the bellies of these animals is exclusively for our males and forbidden to our females. But if it is [born] dead, then all of them have shares therein." He will punish them for their description. Indeed, He is Wise and Knowing.

140قَدْ خَسِرَ الَّذِينَ قَتَلُوا أَوْلَادَهُمْ سَفَهًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَحَرَّمُوا مَا رَزَقَهُمُ اللَّهُ افْتِرَاءً عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ قَدْ ضَلُّوا وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ

Those will have lost who killed their children in foolishness without knowledge and prohibited what Allah had provided for them, inventing untruth about Allah. They have gone astray and were not [rightly] guided.

← Verse 137 📖 Al-An'am Verse 139 →

Al-An'amQuran Index

165Verse

MeccanRevelation

138Verse

Translation — Al-An'am 138

Surah Al-An'am Verse 138 - Read, Listen, Translation, English : And they say, "These animals and crops are forbidden; no…

Surah Verse 138/165 — Al-An'am الأنعام (Meccan). Read Listen Translation (English). Listen: Al-An'am Listen, Al-An'am Translation, Al-An'am mp3, Al-An'am pdf. Verse 136–140. English Meaning: Français.

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