ٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ ۖ وَكَفَىٰ بِهِۦٓ إِثْمًا مُّبِينًا 50
Translations
Look how they invent about Allāh untruth, and sufficient is that as a manifest sin.
Transliteration
Unzur kayfa yaftaroon 'alallahi al-kidhab, wa kafaa bihi ithman mubeen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah rebukes those who fabricate lies and attribute false statements to Allah, such as the polytheists who claimed certain animals were forbidden by divine decree when Allah had revealed no such prohibition. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir note this refers specifically to the pagan Arabs' invented dietary restrictions (like bahirah, sa'ibah, wasilah, and hami). The ayah emphasizes that inventing falsehoods against Allah is a grave and manifest sin, sufficient condemnation in itself.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah An-Nisa's discussion of lawful and unlawful sustenance. It directly addresses the pre-Islamic Arab custom of declaring certain livestock forbidden based on superstition rather than divine revelation, which the Quran refutes throughout this passage (4:119-121). The broader context condemns those who follow innovations (bid'ah) and attribute them to God.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Bukhari (5513): The Prophet ﷺ said, 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah, and the second greatest is to invent lies about Allah.' This principle underlies the severity expressed in this ayah. Also relevant: Muslim (1658) regarding the prohibition of declaring lawful things unlawful without divine basis.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers must guard against both intentionally spreading falsehoods about Islam and unintentionally perpetuating cultural practices attributed to religion without scriptural foundation. This ayah teaches that inventing religious laws or prohibitions without divine authority is one of the gravest transgressions and a direct affront to God's sovereignty.
Related Ayahs
أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ عَلَىٰ مَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ ۖ فَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَآ ءَالَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُم مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًا
Or do they envy people for what Allāh has given them of His bounty? But We had already given the family of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom and conferred upon them a great kingdom.
وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِأَعْدَآئِكُمْ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ وَلِيًّا وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ نَصِيرًا
And Allāh is most knowing of your enemies; and sufficient is Allāh as an ally, and sufficient is Allāh as a helper.
فَبِظُلْمٍ مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ طَيِّبَـٰتٍ أُحِلَّتْ لَهُمْ وَبِصَدِّهِمْ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ كَثِيرًا
For wrongdoing on the part of the Jews, We made unlawful for them [certain] good foods which had been lawful to them, and for their averting from the way of Allāh many [people],
إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ أَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَيَأْتِ بِـَٔاخَرِينَ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ قَدِيرًا
If He wills, He can do away with you, O people, and bring others [in your place]. And ever is Allāh competent to do that.