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Surah 5. Al-Ma'ida, Ayah 103

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مَا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنۢ بَحِيرَةٍ وَلَا سَآئِبَةٍ وَلَا وَصِيلَةٍ وَلَا حَامٍ ۙ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ ۖ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
M a jaAAala All a hu min ba h eeratin wal a s a ibatin wal a wa s eelatin wal a ha min wal a kinna alla th eena kafaroo yaftaroona AAal a All a hi alka th iba waaktharuhum l a yaAAqiloon a
IT IS NOT of God's ordaining that certain kinds of cattle should be marked out by superstition and set aside from the use of man;124 yet those who are bent on denying the truth attribute their own lying inventions to God. And most of them never use their reason:
  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "God has not ordained anything [in the nature] of a bahirah, nor a sa'ibah, nor a wasilah, nor a ham." These expressions denote certain categories of domestic animals which the pre-Islamic Arabs used to dedicate to their various deities by setting them free to pasture and prohibiting their use or slaughter. They were selected mainly on the basis of the number, sex and sequence of their offspring; but the lexicographers and commentators are by no means unanimous in their attempts at definition. For this reason - as well as because of their inherent complexity - the above four terms cannot be translated into any other language; consequently, I am rendering them in the text as "certain kinds of cattle marked out by superstition and set aside from the use of man": this being, in the consensus of all authorities, the common denominator of the four categories. It is obvious that their mention at this place (as well as, by implication, in {6:138-139} and {143-144}) serves as an illustration of the arbitrary invention of certain supposedly "religious" obligations and prohibitions alluded to in the preceding two verses and explained in the corresponding notes.

Allah did not institute superstitions like those of a slit-ear she-camel or a she-camel let loose for free pasture or idol sacrifices for twin-births in animals or stallion-camels freed from work; this lie is invented by the unbelievers against Allah, and most of them lack understanding.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
Allah has never ordained the 'so-called' baḥîrah, sa'ibah, waṣîlah, and ḥam camels.1 But the disbelievers2 just fabricate lies about Allah, and most of them lack understanding.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 These camels were allowed by pagan Arabs to pasture freely and were not to be used for labour or transportation after fathering or giving birth to a certain number of male or female camels.

 i.e., the pagans.

Allah hath not appointed anything in the nature of a Bahirah or a Saibah or a Wasilah or a Hami, but those who disbelieve invent a lie against Allah. Most of them have no sense.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
It was not Allah Who instituted (superstitions like those of) a slit-ear she-camel or a she-camel let loose for free pasture or idol sacrifices for twin-births in animals or stallion-camels freed from work; it is blasphemers who invent a lie against Allah but most of them lack wisdom. 809
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A number of Arab Pagan superstitions are referred to. The Pagan mind, not understanding the hidden secrets of nature, attributed certain phenomena to divine anger and were assailed by superstitious fears which haunted their lives. If a she-camel or other female domestic animal had a large number of young, she (or one of her offspring) had her ear slit and she was dedicated to a god: such an animal was a bahira. On return in safety from a journey, or on recovery from an illness a she-camel was similarly dedicated and let loose for free pasture: she was called a saiba. Where an animal bore twins, certain sacrifices or dedications were made to idols: an animal so dedicated was a wasila. A stallion-camel dedicated to the gods by certain rites was a ham. The particular examples lead to the general truth: that superstition is due to ignorance, and is degrading to men and dishonouring to Allah.

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