Al-Qur'an Surah Al-An'am Verse 139

Mufti Taqi Usmani

They say, “Whatever is in the wombs of these cattle is purely for our males, and forbidden to our wives.” If it be born dead, then all of them share in it. Soon, He will punish them for what they attribute. Surely, He is All-Wise, All-Knowing.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

They ˹also˺ say, “The offspring of this cattle is reserved for our males and forbidden to our females; but if it is stillborn, they may all share it.” He will repay them for their falsehood. Surely He is All-Wise, All-Knowing.

Ruwwad Translation Center

They also say, “What is in the bellies of these livestock is exclusively for our males and forbidden to our females, but if it is stillborn, they all will have share in it. He will punish them for what they attribute. He is All-Wise, All-Knowing.

A. J. Arberry

And they say, 'What is within the bellies of these cattle is reserved for our males and forbidden to our spouses; but if it be dead, then they all shall be partners in it.' He will assuredly recompense them for their describing; surely He is All-wise, All-knowing.

Abdul Haleem

They also say, ‘The contents of these animals’ wombs will be reserved solely for our men and forbidden to our women, though if the offspring is stillborn they may have a share of it.’ He will punish them for what they attribute to Him: He is all wise, all aware.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And they say: whatsoever is in the bellies of such cattle is for our males alone and is forbidden unto our wives, and if it be born dead, then they all are partakers thereof. Anon He shall requite them for their attribution verily He is Wise, Knowing.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

They say; "What is in the wombs of such and such cattle is specially reserved (for food) for our men, and forbidden to our women; but if it is still-born, then all have share therein. For their (false) attribution (of superstitions to Allah), He will soon punish them; for He is full of wisdom and knowledge.

Abul Ala Maududi

And they say: 'What is within the bellies of such-and-such cattle is exclusively for our males and is forbidden to our females; but if it be born dead, they all may share in it.' He will soon requite them for all that they (falsely) attribute to Allah. He is All-Wise, All-Knowing.

Ahmed Ali

And they say: "Whatever is in the wombs of these cattle is only meant for men and forbidden our women; but in case it should be still-born both could eat it." God will punish them for what they assert. He is all-wise and all-knowing.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And they said, “The animals in the bellies of such cattle are purely for our males and forbidden to our women; and if the animal is stillborn, they all have a share of it”; soon Allah will repay them for their utterances; indeed He is Wise, All Knowing.

Ali Quli Qarai

And they say, ‘That which is in the bellies of these cattle is exclusively for our males and forbidden to our wives. But if it be still-born, they will all share it.’ Soon He will requite them for their allegations. Indeed, He is all-wise, all-knowing.

Ali Ünal

They also say (concerning certain other cattle they consecrate): "All that is in the wombs of these cattle is (if they are born alive) exclusively for our males and is unlawful for our wives. If it (the newborn) is born dead or dies soon after birth, all of them (men and women) may share therein." He will soon recompense them for their attributing (these rules falsely to Him). Surely, He is All-Wise (in Whose every act and commandment are many instances of wisdom), All-Knowing (whose every act is based on absolute knowledge).

Amatul Rahman Omar

They further say, `That (the young one) which is (living) in the womb of such and such cattle is exclusively reserved for our males and is forbidden to our spouses, but if it be still- born then they are (all) partakers of it.´ He will surely repay them with punishment for their (false) specification. Surely, He is All-Wise, All-Knowing.

English Literal

And they said: "What (is) in these camels`/livestock`s` bellies/insides (are) clearly/purely to our males and forbidden on our wives/spouses." And if (it) was dead , so they are in it partners, he will reward/reimburse90them (equal to) their description/categorization, that He (is) wise/judicious, knowledgeable.

Faridul Haque

And they said, “The animals in the bellies of such cattle are purely for our males and forbidden to our women; and if the animal is stillborn, they all have a share of it”; soon Allah will repay them for their utterances; indeed He is Wise, All Knowing.

Hamid S. Aziz

And they say, "What is in the wombs of these cattle is reserved for men and unlawful for our women, but if it be still born, then all may have shares in it." He will reward them for their superstitious attributions; verily, He is Wise and Aware.

Hilali & Khan

And they say: "What is in the bellies of such and such cattle (milk or foetus) is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females (girls and women), but if it is born dead, then all have shares therein." He will punish them for their attribution (of such false orders to Allah). Verily, He is All-Wise, All-Knower. (Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol. 8, Page 49).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And they say: Such and such cattle and crops are prohibited -- none shall eat them except such as we please -- so they assert -- and cattle whose backs are forbidden, and cattle on which they would not mention Allah’s name -- forging a lie against Him. He will requite them for what they forge.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And they say: What is in the wombs of these cattle is specially for our males, and forbidden to our wives, and if it be stillborn, then they are all partners in it; He will reward them for their attributing (falsehood to Allah); surely He is Wise, Knowing.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And they say: That which is in the bellies of such cattle is reserved for our males and is forbidden to our wives; but if it be born dead, then they (all) may be partakers thereof. He will reward them for their attribution (of such ordinances unto Him). Lo, He is Wise, Aware.

Muhammad Sarwar

They have also said, "Whatever exists in the wombs of these animals belongs to our people alone and it is not lawful for our women." However, if they are born dead, then everyone will have a share. God will give them what they deserve for (their unjust laws). God is All-merciful and All-knowing.

Qaribullah & Darwish

They also say: 'What is in the bellies (wombs) of these cattle is reserved for our males but not for our wives' But if it is stillborn, they all partake of it. He will recompense them for their describing. He is Wise, Knowing.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

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). Verily, He is All-Wise, All-Knower.

Wahiduddin Khan

They say, "What is in the wombs of such and such cattle is exclusively for our males and is forbidden to our females. But if it is stillborn, they may have a share of it." God will soon punish them for their [false] attribution. He is wise, and all-knowing.

Talal Itani

And they say, “What lies in the wombs of these animals is exclusively for our males, and prohibited to our wives.” But if it is stillborn, they can share in it. He will surely punish them for their allegations. He is Wise and Knowing.

Tafsir jalalayn

And they say, `That which is within the bellies of these, forbidden, cattle, namely, the camels [they call] S'ibas or Bahras, is reserved, permitted, for our males and forbidden to our spouses, that is, the women; but if it be dead (read maytatun or maytatan, and the verb as either feminine takun or masculine yakun, `if it be') then they [all] may be partakers thereof'. He, God, will assuredly requite them for their describing, [this and] that as [either] permitted or forbidden, with the appropriate requital thereof. Surely He is Wise, in His actions, Knowing, of His creatures.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Allah says;

وَقَالُواْ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانْعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَى أَزْوَاجِنَا وَإِن يَكُن مَّيْتَةً فَهُمْ فِيهِ شُرَكَاء

سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ

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,
وَقَالُواْ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانْعَامِ 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,
وَقَالُواْ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانْعَامِ 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;
وَقَالُواْ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَـذِهِ الَانْعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَى أَزْوَاجِنَا
(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,
سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ
(He will punish them for their attribution) means,

uttering such falsehood.

This is explained by Allah's statement,

وَلَا تَقُولُواْ لِمَا تَصِفُ أَلْسِنَتُكُمُ الْكَذِبَ هَـذَا حَلَـلٌ وَهَـذَا حَرَامٌ لِّتَفْتَرُواْ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُونَ

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