قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ فَجَعَلْتُم مِّنْهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلَـٰلًا قُلْ ءَآللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمْ ۖ أَمْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ تَفْتَرُونَ 59
Translations
Say, "Have you seen what Allāh has sent down to you of provision of which you have made [some] lawful and [some] unlawful?" Say, "Has Allāh permitted you [to do so], or do you invent [something] about Allāh?"
Transliteration
Qul ara'aytum mā anzala Allāhu lakum min rizqin faja'altum minhu harāman wa-halālan qul ā-Allāhu adhina lakum am 'alā Allāhi taftarūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah challenges the polytheists who arbitrarily declared certain provisions (food and goods) as forbidden (harām) and others as permissible (halāl) without divine authorization. The Prophet is commanded to ask them whether Allah has permitted them this authority, or whether they are fabricating lies against Allah. Ibn Kathir notes this refers specifically to the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of declaring certain animals and foods unlawful based on superstition and custom, such as forbidding camel meat or declaring certain animals harām due to vows made to idols.
Revelation Context
This ayah addresses a central Meccan theme: the rejection of human innovation in religious matters (bid'ah). It was revealed during the Meccan period when the Quraysh and other Arab tribes maintained various prohibitions on food and livestock that had no basis in divine revelation, such as the bahīrah (slit-ear camel) and other animals described in Surah 5:103. The ayah directly challenges their religious authority and reiterates that only Allah has the right to legislate what is halāl and harām.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and between them are matters that are unclear about which many people do not know.' This hadith emphasizes that distinctions in permissibility come from divine guidance, not human opinion. Additionally, Surah 5:103-104 (also Quranic) addresses the same Arabian practices of arbitrary food prohibitions.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that religious laws and prohibitions derive exclusively from divine revelation, not from human custom, superstition, or cultural tradition. Modern believers should reflect critically on whether their religious practices are rooted in authentic Quranic and Prophetic guidance rather than inherited cultural assumptions or personal preference.
Related Ayahs
قَالَ مُوسَىٰٓ أَتَقُولُونَ لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَآءَكُمْ ۖ أَسِحْرٌ هَـٰذَا وَلَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلسَّـٰحِرُونَ
Moses said, "Do you say [thus] about the truth when it has come to you? Is this magic? But magicians will not succeed."
وَٱتَّبِعْ مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ وَٱصْبِرْ حَتَّىٰ يَحْكُمَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ ٱلْحَـٰكِمِينَ
And follow what is revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], and be patient until Allāh will judge. And He is the best of judges.
إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا كَمَآءٍ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَٱخْتَلَطَ بِهِۦ نَبَاتُ ٱلْأَرْضِ مِمَّا يَأْكُلُ ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمُ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَخَذَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ زُخْرُفَهَا وَٱزَّيَّنَتْ وَظَنَّ أَهْلُهَآ أَنَّهُمْ قَـٰدِرُونَ عَلَيْهَآ أَتَىٰهَآ أَمْرُنَا لَيْلًا أَوْ نَهَارًا فَجَعَلْنَـٰهَا حَصِيدًا كَأَن لَّمْ تَغْنَ بِٱلْأَمْسِ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ ٱلْـَٔايَـٰتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
The example of [this] worldly life is but like rain which We have sent down from the sky that the plants of the earth absorb - [those] from which men and livestock eat - until, when the earth has taken on its adornment and is beautified and its people suppose that they have capability over it, there comes to it Our command by night or by day, and We make it as a harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday. Thus do We explain in detail the signs for a people who give thought.
وَمَا كَانَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانُ أَن يُفْتَرَىٰ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَـٰكِن تَصْدِيقَ ٱلَّذِى بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَتَفْصِيلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
And it was not [possible] for this Qur’ān to be produced by other than Allāh, but [it is] a confirmation of what was before it and a detailed explanation of the [former] Scripture, about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.