Tafsir of Surah Al-An'am - Verse 137

Shaytan Lured the Idolators to Kill Their Children

Allah says, just as the Shayatin lured the idolators to assign a share for Allah from what He created of agriculture and cattle - and a share for the idols, they also made it seem fair for them to kill their children, for fear of poverty, and burying their daughters alive, for fear of dishonor. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that he commented;

وَكَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ قَتْلَ أَوْلَـدِهِمْ شُرَكَآؤُهُمْ

(And so to many of the idolators, their "partners" have made fair seeming the killing of their children...) "They make killing their children attractive to them." Mujahid said, "Idolators' partners among the devils ordered them to bury their children for fear of poverty." As-Suddi said, "The devils commanded them to kill their daughters so that they,

لِيُرْدُوهُمْ

(lead them to their own destruction), and to,

وَلِيَلْبِسُواْ عَلَيْهِمْ دِينَهُمْ

(cause confusion in their religion.)" Allah said,

وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ مَا فَعَلُوهُ

(And if Allah had willed, they would not have done so.) meaning, all this occurred by Allah's leave, will and decree, but He dislikes these practices, and He has the perfect wisdom in every decree. He is never questioned about what He does, but they all will be questioned.

فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ

(So leave them alone with their fabrications.) meaning, avoid and abandon them and what they do, for Allah will judge between you and them.

Linkage of Verses

Described in the previous verses were false beliefs of the mushriks of Arabia while the present verses recount their practical errors and ignorant customs. The customs of Jahiliyyah mentioned in these verses are: (1) They took out a portion in the name of Allah from grains and fruits, and some in the name of idols and Jinns. Then, if by chance, some part of what belonged to the portion of Allah got mixed up with the portion reserved for idols, they would let it stay mixed as it was. When the position was the reverse of it, they would take it out and make the portion set for idols even. The excuse was that Allah is need-free. A cut in His share does not harm Him while the partners need it - so, their share should not be decreased. This evil custom was mentioned earlier in verse 136.

(2) The second custom was that they would release animals they called Bahirah and Sa'ibah in the name of idols and said that they were doing it for the pleasure of Allah. Here too, the portion allotted to idols was that the act of worship was intended for them - and the portion allotted to Allah was that they aimed to please Allah.

(3) The third custom was that of killing their female children.

(4) The fourth custom was that they would endow some tillage in the name of idols saying that only men could use its produce. Giving or not giving a share from it to women depended on their will. Women had no right to demand.

(5) They would do the same thing with cattle when they would restrict their use for men only.

(6) They considered the quadruped animals they released in the name of idols as unlawful for purposes of riding or carrying loads.

(7) There were quadruped animals they would specify. Using them at any time, they would not pronounce the name of Allah, neither when milking, nor when riding and nor when slaughtering.

(8) The eighth custom was that they would release animals in the name of idols, naming them as Bahirah or Sa'ibah. When, at the time

of slaughter, the calf came out alive, they would slaughter it as well - but, would take it as lawful for men only; for women, they took it to be unlawful - and if the calf was born still, it was supposed to be lawful for everyone.

(9) Even milk from some animals was considered lawful for men and unlawful for women.

(10) They took reverence for four kinds of animals: Bahirah, Sa'ibah, Wasilah and Hami, as an act of worship.

[ All these narrations appear in Ad-Durr Al-Manthur and Ruh al-Mani from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas, Mujahid, Ibn Zayd and As-Suddiy with exegetic deductions of Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Abi Ash-Shaybah and Ibn Humayd) [ As in Bayn al-Qur'an of Maulana Thanavi ]

In ancient times, the people of Arabia used to attribute their religion to Abraham and Ishmael. But, in practice, the religion prevalent there was a self-made one, which their leaders had invented and introduced among them. The offering of their produce and cattle made in the name of God and His alleged partners were subject to strict restrictions of their own conception. For instance, if a freed animal was sacrificed and if a live offspring came out of its womb, then it was held that its meat could be eaten only by males and should not be eaten by females, whereas if the offspring was a dead one, it could be eaten by both males and females. Similarly, it was forbidden to ride on the back of certain animals or to place loads on them. In respect of some animals, it was their belief that God’s name should not be taken while riding, slaughtering or milking them. Such people are far removed from the real requirements of religion, i.e. the human being’s devotion to God and his concern about the Hereafter. Every day, they go beyond the limits fixed by God, but take care to strictly observe rules about irrelevant matters of minor importance. This is one of Satan’s complex strategies. He alienates people from the real religion by introducing unrelated matters among them in the name of religion. By creating a tendency to extremism in them, he instils the misunderstanding in man that he (the latter) is steadfast in God’s religion. Extremism in the outer formalities of prayers is the special product of this psychology. A man devoid of sincerity and humility pays meticulous attention to externals, imagining that he has performed the act of prayer to the utmost perfection.