Surah Anam ayat 138 Tafsir Quran 6:138

﴿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﴾
[ الأنعام: 138]

6:138 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.

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 Sā’ibas or Hāmīs 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.

They classified cattle and crops into

The Idolators Forbade Certain Types of Cattle `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, وَقَالُواْ هَـذِهِ أَنْعَـمٌ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌ ( 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, d حِجْرٍ ( Hijr, ) refers to what the idolators designated for their deities.
As-Suddi said that the Ayah, لاَّ يَطْعَمُهَآ إِلاَّ مَن نَّشَآءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ ( 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, قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ مَّآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مِّن رِّزْقٍ فَجَعَلْتُمْ مِّنْهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلاَلاً قُلْ ءَآللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمْ أَمْ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَفْتَرُونَ ( 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 وَلاَ سَآئِبَةٍ وَلاَ وَصِيلَةٍ وَلاَ حَامٍ وَلَـكِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ ( 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, وَأَنْعَـمٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَـمٌ لاَّ يَذْكُرُونَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا ( 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. افْتِرَآءً عَلَيْهِ ( 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, سَيَجْزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ ( He will recompense them for what they used to fabricate. ) against Him, and falsely attribute to Him.

(6:138) They say: 'These animals and these crops are sacrosanct: none may eat of them save those whom we will' - imposing interdictions of their own contriving. *111 And they declare that it is forbidden to burden the backs of certain cattle, and these are the cattle over which they do not pronounce the name of Allah.  *112All these are false fabrications against Allah, *113 and He will soon requite them for all that they fabricate.

And they say, "These animals and crops meaning

*111).
There was a practice among the people of Arabia whereby they used to consecrate certain animals and farms to certain shrines, and at offerings at certain altars.
These consecrated offerings could not be used by everybody.
An elaborate code laid down what kind of offering could be used by what kind of people.
God not only judges such practices to be polytheistic, but also censures them as man-made innovations.
God was the master of all that they had consecrated as offerings to the deities.
He had neither encumbered human beings with the need to make any of those offerings and consecrations nor imposed those restrictions on what they might consume.
These were the wilful inventions of headstrong and rebellious people who attributed to themselves the authority to make laws as they pleased.

*112).
Traditions indicate that there were certain ritual offerings, and that on certain occasions animals were consecrated for sacrifice at which it was deemed unlawful to pronounce the name of God.
It was also prohibited to ride such animals during the Pilgrimage, since at that time the pilgrim pronounced the name of God when he recited the formula: Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk.
Every care was taken not to pronounce the name of God at the time of milking, mounting, slaughtering and eating of such animals.

*113).
Even though those rules had not been laid down by God, people followed them under the false impression that they had been prescribed by Him.
They could not adduce any injunction from God in support of such a belief, and all that they could claim was that it was an integral part of their ancestors' way of life.

 

The Idolators Forbade Certain Types of Cattle `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, وَقَالُواْ هَـذِهِ أَنْعَـمٌ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌ ( 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, d حِجْرٍ ( Hijr, ) refers to what the idolators designated for their deities.
As-Suddi said that the Ayah, لاَّ يَطْعَمُهَآ إِلاَّ مَن نَّشَآءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ ( 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, قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ مَّآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مِّن رِّزْقٍ فَجَعَلْتُمْ مِّنْهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلاَلاً قُلْ ءَآللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمْ أَمْ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَفْتَرُونَ ( 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 وَلاَ سَآئِبَةٍ وَلاَ وَصِيلَةٍ وَلاَ حَامٍ وَلَـكِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ ( 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, وَأَنْعَـمٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَـمٌ لاَّ يَذْكُرُونَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا ( 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. افْتِرَآءً عَلَيْهِ ( 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, سَيَجْزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ ( He will recompense them for what they used to fabricate. ) against Him, and falsely attribute to Him.

( And they say: Such cattle ) i.e. the Bahirah, al-Sa’ibah, al-Wasilah and al-Ham ( and crops are forbidden. No one is to eat of them save whom We will in their make believe ) they means men to the exclusion of women ( cattle whose backs are forbidden ) i.e. what is known as al-Ham, ( cattle over which they mention not the name of Allah ) when they get pregnant or deliver, this is what is called al-Bahirah. ( (All that is ) a lie against Him) i.e. that He commanded them to do so. ( He will repay them for that which they invent ) for lying against Him.

And according to their pretending, they say that such and such cattle and crops are forbidden, and none should eat of them except those whom we allow. And (they say) there are cattle forbidden to be used for burden or any other work, and cattle on which (at slaughtering) the Name of Allah is not pronounced; lying against Him (Allah). He will recompense them for what they used to fabricate.

Page 146 English transliteration