Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, and al-Sha‘bi said: What is meant is the fetuses of the bahirah and saibah livestock. Whatever was born alive from them was exclusively for the men, not the women; but whatever was born dead was eaten by both men and women alike. The feminine ending was added to the word meaning “exclusive” for emphasis, as in words such as “special” and “general,” or their saying, “a genealogist” and “a great scholar.” Al-Farra’ said: The feminine ending was added because livestock is grammatically feminine, and what is in their wombs is like them, so it was made feminine accordingly. Al-Kisa’i said: The masculine and feminine forms of “exclusive” have the same meaning, like wa‘z and maw‘izah, both meaning “admonition.”

Regarding His words, “and if it is dead”: Ibn ‘Amir [and Abu Ja‘far] (1) recited it with the feminine verb form, and with “dead” in the nominative. The verb was marked as feminine because the word for a dead animal is grammatically feminine. Abu Bakr’s transmission from ‘Asim recited it with the feminine verb form and “dead” in the accusative: ⦗125a⦘ that is, if the fetuses are dead. Ibn Kathir recited it with the masculine verb form and “dead” in the nominative, because what is meant by “a dead animal” here is “a dead one”: that is, if what is in the wombs is dead. The others recited it with the masculine verb form and “dead” in the accusative, referring it back to ma (what): that is, if what is in the wombs is dead. This is indicated by His saying, “then they are partners therein,” rather than using the feminine form. What is meant is that the men and women are partners in it.

“He will recompense them for their assertions”: that is, for their attributing lies to Allah, Most High. “Indeed, He is All-Wise, All-Knowing.”

“Lost indeed are those who have killed their children in foolish ignorance and forbidden what Allah has provided for them, fabricating lies against Allah. They have certainly gone astray and were not rightly guided. (140) It is He who has brought into being gardens, both trellised and untrellised, date palms, crops of diverse produce, olives, and pomegranates—alike and unlike. Eat of their fruit when they bear fruit, and give its due on the day of harvest. But do not be wasteful, for He does not love the wasteful. (141)”

“Lost indeed are those who have killed their children”: Ibn ‘Amir and Ibn Kathir recited “killed” with the middle consonant doubled, indicating repeated action; the others recited it without doubling. “In foolish ignorance” means out of ignorance. “Without knowledge”: This was revealed concerning Rabi‘ah, Mudar, and some other Arab tribes. They used to bury their daughters alive out of fear of captivity and poverty. The Banu Kinanah did not do this (3).

“And forbidden what Allah has provided for them”: namely, the bahirah, saibah, wasilah, and hami. “Fabricating lies against Allah”: because they claimed that Allah had commanded them to do so. “They have certainly gone astray and were not rightly guided.”