Surah 6

Surah 6:139

"They say, ‘What is in the bellies of these livestock is exclusively for our males and forbidden to our wives. But if it is (born) dead, they will (all) be partakers in it.’ He will repay them for their attributing (these things to Him). Surely He is wise, knowing."
Tafsir Ibn Kathir Verses 6:139
Show Full Scripture Context (6:139) — 1 Verse
Verse 139

وَقَالُواْ مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَٰذِهِ ٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِ خَالِصَةٞ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَىٰٓ أَزۡوَٰجِنَاۖ وَإِن يَكُن مَّيۡتَةٗ فَهُمۡ فِيهِ شُرَكَآءُۚ سَيَجۡزِيهِمۡ وَصۡفَهُمۡۚ إِنَّهُۥ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٞ

They say, ‘What is in the bellies of these livestock is exclusively for our males and forbidden to our wives. But if it is (born) dead, they will (all) be partakers in it.’ He will repay them for their attributing (these things to Him). Surely He is wise, knowing.

139. And they say: "What is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females, but if it is bom dead, then all have slmres therein." He will punish them for their attribution (of such false orders to Allah). Verily, He is All-Wise, All-Knower .

Abu Ishaq As-Subayl narrated that ‘Abdullah bin Abi Al-Hudhayl reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said that,

And they say : "What is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone..."} refers to milk.

‘Awfi said that Ibn ‘Abbas said about this Ayah,

And they say: "What is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone. .

“It is about milk, which they prohibited for their females and allowed only their males to drink. When a sheep would give birth to a male sheep, they would slaughter it and feed it to their males, but not to their females. If the newly bom lamb was a female, they would not slaughter it, but if it was stillborn, they would share in it (with their females)! Allah forbade this practice.” Similar was said by As-Suddi.

Ash-Sha'bi said, “The Bahirah’ s milk was only given to the men. But if any cattle from the Bahirah died, both men and women would share in eating it.” Similar was said by ‘Ikrimah, Qatadah and ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.

Mujahid commented;

And they say : "Wlwt is in the bellies of such and such cattle is for our males alone, and forbidden to our females.. ."}

“It refers to the Sa’ibah and the Bahirah." Abu Al-‘Aliyah, Mujahid and Qatadah said that Allah’s statement,

He will punish them for their attribution .} means, uttering such falsehood. This is explained by Allah's statement.

And say not concerning that which your tongues falsely utter: " This is lawful and this is forbidden." so as to invent lies against Allah. Verily, those who invent lies against Allah will never prosper.} [ 16 : 116 ]

Allah said,

Verily, He is All-Wise.} in His actions, statements. Law and decree,

All-Knower}, in the actions of His servants, whether good or evil, and He will recompense them for these deeds completely.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 4, Page 485)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.