وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَا تَصِفُ أَلْسِنَتُكُمُ ٱلْكَذِبَ هَـٰذَا حَلَـٰلٌ وَهَـٰذَا حَرَامٌ لِّتَفْتَرُوا۟ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُونَ 116
Translations
And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, "This is lawful and this is unlawful," to invent falsehood about Allāh. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allāh will not succeed.
Transliteration
Wa laa taqoolu lima tassifu alsinatukum al-kadhib hadha halalun wa hadha haramun li-taftaroo alallahi al-kadhib. Inna alladhina yaftaroon alallahi al-kadhib la yuflihuun.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah forbids the fabrication of religious rulings and false attributions to Allah regarding what is permissible (halal) and forbidden (haram). Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi explain that this addresses those who, out of ignorance or malice, invent religious laws without divine authority, particularly referencing pre-Islamic practices where Arabs would declare arbitrary things forbidden. The ayah emphasizes that those who lie and attribute falsehoods to Allah will never achieve success in this life or the hereafter.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in the Meccan period and is part of Surah An-Nahl's broader discussion of divine blessings and the prohibition of innovation in religious matters. It contextually addresses the pre-Islamic Arab practice of declaring certain animals and crops unlawful (like the prohibition on livestock mentioned in 16:115), rebuking their fabricated religious claims without divine sanction.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not part of it, it will be rejected' (Sahih Bukhari & Muslim). Additionally, in Sunan Ibn Majah, the Prophet warned against declaring things forbidden based on personal opinion rather than revealed knowledge.
Themes
Key Lesson
Muslims must refrain from inventing religious rulings or declaring things halal or haram without clear evidence from the Quran and Sunnah; all religious matters must be grounded in authentic divine sources, and personal opinion or cultural tradition cannot substitute for revealed guidance.
Related Ayahs
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ رِزْقًا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ شَيْـًٔا وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
And they worship besides Allāh that which does not possess for them [the power of] provision from the heavens and the earth at all, and [in fact], they are unable.
إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِّلَّهِ حَنِيفًا وَلَمْ يَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
Indeed, Abraham was a [comprehensive] leader, devoutly obedient to Allāh, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associate others with Allāh.
وَٱللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَزْوَٰجِكُم بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ ۚ أَفَبِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ يُؤْمِنُونَ وَبِنِعْمَتِ ٱللَّهِ هُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ
And Allāh has made for you from yourselves mates and has made for you from your mates sons and grandchildren and has provided for you from the good things. Then in falsehood do they believe and in the favor of Allāh they disbelieve?
وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُۥ بَشَرٌ ۗ لِّسَانُ ٱلَّذِى يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِىٌّ وَهَـٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِىٌّ مُّبِينٌ
And We certainly know that they say, "It is only a human being who teaches him [i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ)]." The tongue of the one they refer to is foreign, and this [recitation, i.e., Qur’ān] is [in] a clear Arabic language.