Surah Al-An’am Ayat 139 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 139
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
And they have said, “What is within the bellies of these cattle (Arabic ‘ancam includes cattle, camels, sheep and goats) is exclusively for our males and prohibited to our spouses; and in case it is dead, then they shall be partners in it.” He will soon recompense them for their describing; surely He is Ever-Wise, Ever-Knowing.
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.
اور وه کہتے ہیں کہ جو چیز ان مواشی کے پیٹ میں ہے وه خالص ہمارے مردوں کے لئے ہے اور ہماری عورتوں پر حرام ہے۔ اور اگر وه مرده ہے تو اس میں سب برابر ہیں۔ ابھی اللہ ان کو ان کی غلط بیانی کی سزا دیئے دیتا ہے بلاشبہ وه حکمت واﻻ ہے اور وه بڑا علم واﻻ ہے
Quran 6 Verse 139 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-An’am ayat 139, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(6:139) 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.’[114] He will soon requite them for all that they (falsely) attribute to Allah. He is All-Wise, All-Knowing.
114. One of the provisions of this self-contrived religious code of the Arabs was that the flesh of the young, born of the animals consecrated as offerings to the deities, might be eaten by males but not by females. Persons of both sexes were allowed to eat its flesh if it had died either a natural death or was dead at birth.
Ibn-Kathir
139. 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.) Abu Ishaq As-Subay`i narrated that `Abdullah bin Abi Al-Hudhayl reported that Ibn `Abbas said that,
(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,
(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-Sha`bi 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;
(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,
(He will punish them for their attribution. ) means, uttering such falsehood. This is explained by Allah’s statement,
(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,
(Verily, He is All-Wise.) in His actions, statements, Law and decree,
(All-Knower), in the actions of His servants, whether good or evil, and He will recompense them for these deeds completely.
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