“They say, ‘These livestock and crops are forbidden; none may consume them except those whom we permit’—so they claim. Some livestock are forbidden to be ridden, while over others they do not mention Allah’s name, fabricating lies against Him. He will recompense them for what they used to fabricate. * They also say, ‘What is in the wombs of these livestock is reserved exclusively for our males and forbidden to our wives; but if it is stillborn, they all share in it.’ He will recompense them for their false assertions. Indeed, He is All-Wise, All-Knowing. * Those who foolishly killed their children out of ignorance and forbade what Allah had provided for them, fabricating lies against Allah, have certainly suffered loss. They have gone astray and were never rightly guided.”
Another form of their foolishness was that, with regard to the livestock Allah had made generally lawful for them and granted them as provision and mercy, from which they could derive enjoyment and benefit, they devised innovations and claims of their own. They had rules of their own concerning certain livestock [and crops], saying, “These livestock and crops are forbidden”—that is, prohibited—“and none may consume them except those whom we permit.” In other words, no one was allowed to consume them except someone whom they wished to permit, or whom they identified by some criterion of their own.
All this rested solely on their claims. They had no basis or proof beyond their whims and corrupt opinions.
Other livestock were not forbidden in every respect; rather, they forbade their backs—that is, they forbade riding them or placing loads upon them. They exempted their backs from use and called such an animal al-hām (the protected stallion). There were also livestock over which they did not mention Allah’s name. Instead, they invoked the names of their idols and whatever they worshipped besides Allah. They attributed these practices to Allah, though they were wicked liars in doing so.
“He will recompense them for what they used to fabricate” against Allah by sanctioning polytheism and forbidding lawful foods and benefits. ⦗276⦘
Another of their foolish opinions was that they singled out certain livestock and declared what was in their wombs forbidden to females but not to males. They said, “What is in the wombs of these livestock is reserved exclusively for our males”—that is, lawful for them, with women having no share in it—“and forbidden to our wives,” meaning their women. This applied if the offspring was born alive. But if what [is] in its womb was born dead, they all shared in it; that is, it was lawful for both males and females.
Allah “will recompense them for their false assertions,” for they described what Allah had made lawful as forbidden and what was forbidden as lawful. They thus contradicted and violated Allah’s law and attributed all of this to Him. “Indeed, He is All-Wise” in granting them respite and allowing them to persist in their misguidance, and “All-Knowing” of them. Nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him. He, Most High, knows them and knows what they said and fabricated about Him, all the while granting them well-being and providing for them—glorified and exalted is He.
He then made clear their loss and the foolishness of their minds, saying, “Those who foolishly killed their children out of ignorance have certainly suffered loss.” That is, they lost their religion, their children, and their reason. Instead of possessing sound minds, they came to be characterized by ruinous folly and misguidance.
“And they forbade what Allah had provided for them”—that is, what He had made a mercy for them and sent to them as provision. They rejected their Lord’s generous bounty. Nor were they content with that; rather, they described it as forbidden when it was perfectly lawful.
All of this was done while “fabricating lies against Allah”—lies uttered by every obstinate, inveterate unbeliever. “They have gone astray and were never rightly guided.” That is, they strayed far from the truth and were not rightly guided in any of their affairs.