Surah An-Nisa Ayat 119 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 119
And I will mislead them, and I will arouse in them [sinful] desires, and I will command them so they will slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them so they will change the creation of Allah.” And whoever takes Satan as an ally instead of Allah has certainly sustained a clear loss.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
And indeed I will definitely lead them into error, and indeed I will definitely arouse (vain) covetings in them, and indeed I will definitely command them (and) so indeed they will definitely cut off the cattle’s ears; (One of the superstitions of the pagans) and indeed I will definitely command them (and) so indeed they will definitely change the creation of Allah.” And whoever takes Ash-Shaytan (An all-vicious one, i.e., satan) to himself for a constant patron apart from Allah, then he has already suffered (Literally: lost) evidently the greatest loss.
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:
اور انہیں راه سے بہکاتا رہوں گا اور باطل امیدیں دﻻتا رہوں گا اور انہیں سکھاؤں گا کہ جانوروں کی کان چیر دیں، اور ان سے کہوں گا کہ اللہ تعالیٰ کی بنائی ہوئی صورت کو بگاڑ دیں، سنو! جو شخص اللہ کو چھوڑ کرشیطان کو اپنا رفیق بنائے گا وه صریح نقصان میں ڈوبے گا
Quran 4 Verse 119 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah An-Nisa ayat 119, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(4:119) 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,[147] and I shall command them and they will disfigure Allah’s creation.’[148] He who took Satan rather than Allah for his guardian has indeed suffered a man-ifest loss.
147. The reference here is to a superstitious Arabian custom. It was customary among the Arabs that after a camel had given birth to five or ten young to slit her ears and let her go in the name of their deity; they considered it forbidden to put her to any work. Likewise, the male camel that had caused the birth of ten camels was consecrated to some deity. The slitting of ears symbolized this consecration.
148. To alter God’s creation in some respect does not mean changing its original form. If that was meant, human civilization would have to be considered Satanic in its entirety. For civilization consists essentially of man’s putting to use the resources endowed by God. Hence the alteration of God’s creation, which is characterized as Satanic, consists in using a thing not for the purpose for which it was created by God. In other words, all acts performed in violation either of one’s true nature or of the intrinsic nature of other things are the result of the misleading promptings of Satan. These include, for instance, sodomy, birth control, monasticism, celibacy, sterilization of either men or women, turning males into eunuchs, diverting females from the functions entrusted to them by nature and driving them to perform the functions for which men were created. These and numerous similar measures are enacted by Satan’s disciples in this world, which amounts on their part, to saying that the laws of the Creator were faulty and that they would like to ‘reform’ them.
Ibn-Kathir
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 119 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 116 which provides the complete commentary from verse 116 through 122.
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