وَقَالُوا۟ مَا فِى بُطُونِ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ خَالِصَةٌ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِنَا ۖ وَإِن يَكُن مَّيْتَةً فَهُمْ فِيهِ شُرَكَآءُ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ 139
Translations
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.
Transliteration
Wa qaalou maa fee butooni haazihil-an'ami khalisatun lizzukoori na wa muharramun 'ala azwaji na wa in yakonn mayyitatan fahum feehi shurakaa'. Sayajzihim wasfahum. Innahu hakimun 'aleem.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of prohibiting women from consuming the meat of sacrificial animals while reserving it exclusively for men, and simultaneously allowing women to share in carrion animals (dead meat). Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that this was an arbitrary, illogical custom rooted in ignorance ('jahiliyyah'), as the Qur'an exposes the hypocrisy of forbidding lawful sustenance to women based on superstition. Allah warns that He will recompense them for their false claims and unjust exclusions, affirming His perfect wisdom and knowledge.
Revelation Context
This ayah addresses the corrupt practices and superstitions of the pre-Islamic Arabs regarding animal sacrifices and food distribution. It appears in the context of Surah Al-An'am's broader theme of refuting polytheistic beliefs and illogical customs. The practice referenced here was tied to idolatrous beliefs about which meats were sacred to their deities, making it a direct critique of jahiliyyah customs that contradicted divine justice and reason.
Related Hadiths
The broader theme relates to Sahih Muslim's teachings on the prohibition of superstitious beliefs about animals. Additionally, hadiths regarding the rights of women to sustenance and inheritance (found in various collections) align with the Qur'an's rejection of arbitrary gender-based exclusions from lawful provisions.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to reject customs and practices that lack rational or divine basis, and to recognize that gender should never be grounds for depriving others of lawful sustenance and dignity. It calls us to examine our own traditions critically and ensure they align with Islamic principles of justice and equity.
Related Ayahs
وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ كِتَـٰبًا فِى قِرْطَاسٍ فَلَمَسُوهُ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ لَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
And even if We had sent down to you, [O Muḥammad], a written scripture on a page and they touched it with their hands, the disbelievers would say, "This is not but obvious magic."
وَمِنَ ٱلْإِبِلِ ٱثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ ٱلْبَقَرِ ٱثْنَيْنِ ۗ قُلْ ءَآلذَّكَرَيْنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ أَمَّا ٱشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ أَرْحَامُ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۖ أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَآءَ إِذْ وَصَّىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِهَـٰذَا ۚ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا لِّيُضِلَّ ٱلنَّاسَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
And of the camels, two and of the cattle, two. Say, "Is it the two males He has forbidden or the two females or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Or were you witnesses when Allāh charged you with this? Then who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allāh to mislead the people by [something] other than knowledge? Indeed, Allāh does not guide the wrongdoing people."
وَكَيْفَ أَخَافُ مَآ أَشْرَكْتُمْ وَلَا تَخَافُونَ أَنَّكُمْ أَشْرَكْتُم بِٱللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِۦ عَلَيْكُمْ سُلْطَـٰنًا ۚ فَأَىُّ ٱلْفَرِيقَيْنِ أَحَقُّ بِٱلْأَمْنِ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
And how should I fear what you associate while you do not fear that you have associated with Allāh that for which He has not sent down to you any authority? So which of the two parties has more right to security, if you should know?"
فَقَدْ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ ۖ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِيهِمْ أَنۢبَـٰٓؤُا۟ مَا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
For they had denied the truth when it came to them, but there is going to reach them the news of what they used to ridicule.