Surah Al-An'am (The Cattle): Verse 138
Translation and Exegesis (Based on Mafatih al-Ghayb by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi)
Verse Segment 1: Their False Divisions of Livestock
**{And they said, "These are cattle and crops set aside [for idols]..."}**
Know that this is the third type of their corrupt rulings concerning their livestock. They divided their animals into categories:
- The First Division: They would say, {These are cattle and crops ḥijr (forbidden/reserved)}.
- The word {حجر} (ḥijr) here functions as a passive participle (like maf'ūl), similar to dhabīḥ (slaughtered) or ṭaḥn (ground).
- It applies equally to masculine, feminine, singular, and plural, as its ruling is like that of nouns rather than adjectives.
- The root meaning of ḥijr is prevention/prohibition. The intellect ('aql) is called ḥijr because it prevents one from shameful acts. If someone is said to be fī ḥijr al-qāḍī (in the custody of the judge), it means they are under his protection/prevention.
- Al-Hasan and Qatadah recited it as {حُجْر} (ḥujr) (with a ḍammah on the ḥā'). Ibn Abbas recited it as {حَرَج} (ḥaraj), meaning restriction or tightness.
- When they designated something from their crops or livestock for their idols, they would say, {None shall eat of it except those whom We will [permit]}, meaning the servants of the idols, and they restricted it to men, excluding women.
- The Second Division: This concerns the livestock about which they said, {And the backs of these cattle are forbidden} (referring to the Baḥīrah, Sā'ibah, and Ḥāmī). The explanation of these has already passed in Surah Al-Mā'idah.
- The Third Division: {Cattle over which they do not mention the Name of Allah} during slaughter. Instead, they would mention the names of the idols. It is also said that they would not ride them, nor would they perform the Talbiyah (recitation during Hajj) while mounted on their backs.
Verse Segment 2: The Consequence
**{...inventing a lie against Him.}**
The accusative case (naṣb) of the phrase {افتراء عليه} (iftirā'an 'alayh) is either because it is the object (maf'ūl lah) explaining the reason, or it is a circumstantial adverb (ḥāl), or it is an emphatic verbal noun (maṣdar mu'akkid), because their saying all this is essentially an act of fabrication.
**{He will recompense them for what they used to invent.}**
This part contains a severe warning (wa'īd).
Verse Segment 3: The Prohibition of Fetal Meat
**{And they said, "What is in the wombs of these cattle is reserved exclusively for our males, and is forbidden to our wives. But if it is a stillborn, then they share in it." He will recompense them for their description. Indeed, He is Wise, All-Knowing.}**
This verse addresses another specific, corrupt ruling they made regarding the offspring of their livestock:
- The Ruling: They declared that the fetus found inside a slaughtered animal (if the mother was slaughtered permissibly by their standards) was reserved exclusively for their males and forbidden to their wives.
- The Exception: However, if the fetus was found dead (stillborn), then both men and women shared in eating it.
- The Rebuke: {He will recompense them for their description}—meaning for these fabricated rulings and descriptions they attributed to God.
- The Conclusion: {Indeed, He is Wise, All-Knowing}—His judgment and recompense are based on His perfect wisdom and complete knowledge of their falsehoods.
