Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nisa Verse 119

Mufti Taqi Usmani

and I will lead them astray, and I will tempt them with false hopes, and I will command them, whereby they shall slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them, whereby they shall alter the creation of Allah.” Whoever takes the Satan for friend, instead of Allah, incurs an obvious loss.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

I will certainly mislead them and delude them with empty hopes. Also, I will order them and they will slit the ears of cattle[[ Slitting the ears of cattle dedicated to idols was a superstitious practice before Islam.]] and alter Allah’s creation.” And whoever takes Satan as a guardian instead of Allah has certainly suffered a tremendous loss.

Ruwwad Translation Center

And I will surely mislead them and arouse in them false hopes, and will order them to slit the ears of livestock, and will order them to change Allah’s creation.” Whoever takes Satan as a protector instead of Allah has surely suffered a manifest loss.

A. J. Arberry

and I will lead them astray, and fill them with fancies and I will command them and they will cut off the cattle's ears; I will command them and they will alter God's creation.' Whoso takes Satan to him for a friend, instead of God, has surely suffered a manifest loss.

Abdul Haleem

I will mislead them and incite vain desires in them; I will command them to slit the ears of cattle; I will command them to tamper with God’s creation.’ Whoever chooses Satan as a patron instead of God is utterly ruined:

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And surely I will lead them and will fill them with vain desires, and I will command them so that they will slit the ears of the cattle, and I will command them so that they will alter the creation of Allah. And whosoever taketh Satan for a patron, instead of Allah, shall surely suffer a manifest loss.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by Allah." Whoever, forsaking Allah, takes satan for a friend, hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest.

Abul Ala Maududi

and shall lead them astray, and shall engross them in vain desires, and I shall command them and they will cut off the ears of the cattle, and I shall command them and they will disfigure Allah's creation.' He who took Satan rather than Allah for his guardian has indeed suffered a man-ifest loss.

Ahmed Ali

And mislead them and tempt them, and order them to slit the ears of animals; and order them to alter God's creation." He who holds Satan as friend in place of God will assuredly be damned to perdition.

Ahmed Raza Khan

“And I will surely lead them astray, and I will certainly arouse desires in them, and I will definitely order them so they will pierce animals’ ears, and I will definitely order them so they will alter Allah’s creation”; and whoever chooses the devil for a friend instead of Allah, has indeed suffered a manifest loss.

Ali Quli Qarai

and I will lead them astray and give them [false] hopes, and prompt them to slit the ears of cattle, 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.

Ali Ünal

I will surely lead them astray and surely engross them in vain desires (superstitious fancies and false conceptions); and I will surely command them, and they will surely slit the ears of cattle (to mark them out as meant for their idols and as forbidden to themselves to eat, thus making a lawful thing unlawful); and also I will surely command them and they will surely alter God’s creation." Whoever takes Satan for a confidant and guardian instead of God has indeed suffered a manifest loss.

Amatul Rahman Omar

`And certainly, I will lead them astray and assuredly I will arouse vain desires in them, and I will incite them (to polytheistic practices) and they will slit the ears of cattle (as a mark of their dedication to their deities), and I will most assuredly make them change (for the worse,) the things created by Allâh.´ And he who takes this satan to him for a friend rather than Allâh, has of course suffered an evident loss.

English Literal

And I will misguide them (E), and I will make them desire (E), and I will order/command them (E), so they will cut (E) the animals`/livestock`s ears, and I will order/command them (E), so they will change (E) God`s creation. And who takes the devil (as) a guardian/ally from other than God, so he had lost an evident loss.

Faridul Haque

"And I will surely lead them astray, and I will certainly arouse desires in them, and I will definitely order them so they will pierce animals’ ears, and I will definitely order them so they will alter Allah’s creation"; and whoever chooses the devil for a friend instead of Allah, has indeed suffered a manifest loss.

Hamid S. Aziz

These (Satan´s dupes), their resort is hell; they shall not find an escape there from!

Hilali & Khan

Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will arouse in them false desires; and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by Allah." And whoever takes Shaitan (Satan) as a Wali (protector or helper) instead of Allah, has surely suffered a manifest loss.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Whom Allah has cursed. And he said: Certainly I will take of Thy servants an appointed portion;

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And most certainly I will lead them astray and excite in them vain desires, and bid them so that they shall slit the ears of the cattle, and most certainly I will bid them so that they shall alter Allah's creation; and whoever takes the Shaitan for a guardian rather than Allah he indeed shall suffer a manifest loss.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And surely I will lead them astray, and surely I will arouse desires in them, and surely I will command them and they will cut the cattle' ears, and surely I will command them and they will change Allah's creation. Whoso chooseth Satan for a patron instead of Allah is verily a loser and his loss is manifest.

Muhammad Sarwar

I will lead them astray, induce in their hearts prolonged, worldly desires, command them to pierce the ears of their animals, sacrificed for the idols, and order them to change the religion of God." One who accepts Satan as his guardian, instead of God, has certainly incurred a great loss upon himself.

Qaribullah & Darwish

and lead them astray. I shall fill them with fancies and order them to cut off the ears of cattle. I shall order them to alter the creation of Allah' Indeed, whosoever chooses satan for a guide, instead of Allah, has surely suffered a clear loss.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

"Verily, I will mislead them, and surely, I will arouse in them false desires; and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and indeed I will order them to change the nature created by Allah." And whoever takes Shaytan as a Wali instead of Allah, has surely suffered a manifest loss.

Wahiduddin Khan

and shall lead them astray, and fill them with vain desires and order them to slit the ears of cattle. I shall order them to tamper with God's creation. Whoever chooses Satan as a patron instead of God is utterly ruined:

Talal Itani

“And I will mislead them, and I will entice them, and I will prompt them to slit the ears of cattle, and I will prompt them to alter the creation of God.” Whoever takes Satan as a lord, instead of God, has surely suffered a profound loss.

Tafsir jalalayn

And I will surely lead them astray, from truth with evil whisperings, and surely I will fill them with desires, I shall cast into their hearts [thoughts] that life will endure, that there will be no resurrection and no reckoning; and surely I will command them and they will cut up the cattle's ears, and this was done to the [she-camels they called] bah'ir. And surely I will command them and they will change God's creation', [substituting] His religion with unbelief, making lawful what God has made unlawful and making unlawful what God has made lawful. And whoever takes Satan for a patron, following him and obeying him, instead of God, has surely suffered a manifest loss, [one that is] evident, since he will end up in the Fire, made perpetual for him.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَلاُضِلَّنَّهُمْ

Verily, I will mislead them,

from the true path,

وَلاُمَنِّيَنَّهُمْ

and surely, I will arouse in them false desires;

tempting them to feign repentance, arousing false hopes in them, encouraging them to delay and procrastinate with righteous deeds, deceiving them.

وَلامُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُبَتِّكُنَّ اذَانَ الَانْعَامِ

and certainly, I will order them to slit the ears of cattle,

Qatadah and As-Suddi stated,

meaning, slitting their ears to designate them as Bahirah, Sa'ibah, and a Wasilah.

وَلامُرَنَّهُمْ فَلَيُغَيِّرُنَّ خَلْقَ اللّهِ

And indeed I will order them to change the nature created by Allah.

According to Al-Hasan bin Abi Al-Hasan Al-Basri,

means tattooing.

In his Sahih, Muslim recorded the prohibition of tattooing the face, which in one of its wordings states;

"May Allah curse whoever does this."

It is also recorded in the Sahih that Ibn Mas`ud said,

"May Allah curse those who have tattoos and those who do it, who pluck their (facial) hairs and the one who does it for them, and those who make spaces between their teeth for the purpose of beauty, changing what Allah has created."

He then said,

"Why should not I curse whom the Messenger of Allah has cursed, when the Book of Allah commands it," referring to the Ayah,

وَمَأ ءَاتَـكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَـكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُواْ

And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it). (59;7)

Allah's statement,

وَمَن يَتَّخِذِ الشَّيْطَانَ وَلِيًّا مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ فَقَدْ خَسِرَ خُسْرَانًا مُّبِينًا



And whoever takes Shaytan as a Wali (protector or helper) instead of Allah, has surely suffered a manifest loss.

means, he will have lost this life and the Hereafter.

Indeed, this is a type of loss that cannot be compensated or restored.

Allah's statement,

يَعِدُهُمْ وَيُمَنِّيهِمْ وَمَا يَعِدُهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ إِلاَّ غُرُورًا