وَقَالُوا۟ هَـٰذِهِۦٓ أَنْعَـٰمٌ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌ لَّا يَطْعَمُهَآ إِلَّا مَن نَّشَآءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَأَنْعَـٰمٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَـٰمٌ لَّا يَذْكُرُونَ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا ٱفْتِرَآءً عَلَيْهِ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ 138
Translations
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 Allāh is not mentioned - [all of this] an invention of untruth about Him. He will punish them for what they were inventing.
Transliteration
Wa qalū hādhihi an'āmun wa hartun hijrun lā yat'amuhā illā man nashā'u bi za'mihim wa an'āmun hurrimat zuhūruhā wa an'āmun lā yadhkurūn asma Allāhi 'alayhā iftirā'an 'alayh. Sayajzīhim bi mā kānū yaftarūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of fabricating false religious laws regarding livestock and crops. The pagans arbitrarily declared certain animals and agricultural land as forbidden (haram) to common people, claiming only their chosen individuals could benefit from them, while also prohibiting the slaughtering of certain livestock without mentioning Allah's name—all false inventions attributed to divine law. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that these practices represented shirk (associating partners with Allah) through unlawful prohibition and the omission of Allah's name during sacrificial acts.
Revelation Context
This ayah addresses the idolatrous customs of pre-Islamic Arabia (Jahiliyyah) regarding food taboos and animal restrictions. Surah Al-An'am extensively discusses the false beliefs and superstitions of the Meccan polytheists, and this specific verse targets their arbitrary regulations on livestock and agriculture that had no basis in divine revelation, serving as evidence against their claims of following divine guidance.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet ﷺ said: 'The worst of the people in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who invents a lie against Allah or denies His signs.' This directly relates to the fabrication condemned in this ayah. Additionally, hadith regarding the prohibition of declaring things haram without Allah's permission appears in multiple collections.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that no person or institution has the right to declare lawful things unlawful or create religious laws without divine authorization; such fabrications constitute grave sins and will face divine punishment. For modern readers, this warns against accepting cultural or religious restrictions that lack proper scriptural basis and encourages questioning the legitimacy of practices presented as Islamic law.
Related Ayahs
فَلَمَّا رَءَا ٱلشَّمْسَ بَازِغَةً قَالَ هَـٰذَا رَبِّى هَـٰذَآ أَكْبَرُ ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَفَلَتْ قَالَ يَـٰقَوْمِ إِنِّى بَرِىٓءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ
And when he saw the sun rising, he said, "This is my lord; this is greater." But when it set, he said, "O my people, indeed I am free from what you associate with Allāh.
وَهَـٰذَا صِرَٰطُ رَبِّكَ مُسْتَقِيمًا ۗ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
And this is the path of your Lord, [leading] straight. We have detailed the verses for a people who remember.
ثُمَّ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ تَمَامًا عَلَى ٱلَّذِىٓ أَحْسَنَ وَتَفْصِيلًا لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً لَّعَلَّهُم بِلِقَآءِ رَبِّهِمْ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Then We gave Moses the Scripture, making complete [Our favor] upon the one who did good [i.e., Moses] and as a detailed explanation of all things and as guidance and mercy that perhaps in the meeting with their Lord they would believe.
وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allāh. They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.