وَكَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ قَتْلَ أَوْلَادِهِمْ شُرَكَاؤُهُمْ لِيُرْدُوهُمْ وَلِيَلْبِسُوا عَلَيْهِمْ دِينَهُمْ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ ﴿۱۳۷﴾ وَقَالُوا هَذِهِ أَنْعَامٌ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌ لَا يَطْعَمُهَا إِلَّا مَنْ نَشَاءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَأَنْعَامٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَامٌ لَا يَذْكُرُونَ اسْمَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا افْتِرَاءً عَلَيْهِ سَيَجْزِيهِمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ ﴿۱۳۸﴾ وَقَالُوا مَا فِي بُطُونِ هَذِهِ الْأَنْعَامِ خَالِصَةٌ لِذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَى أَزْوَاجِنَا وَإِنْ يَكُنْ مَيْتَةً فَهُمْ فِيهِ شُرَكَاءُ سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ إِنَّهُ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿۱۳۹﴾

﴾137﴿ Wa kazaalika zaiyana likaseerim minal mushrikeena qatla awlaadihim shurakaaa'uhum liyurdoohum wa liyalbisoo 'alaihim deenahum wa law shaaa'al laahu maa fa'aloohu fazarhum wa maa yaftaroon
﴾138﴿ Wa qaaloo haaziheee an'aamunw wa harsun hijrun laa yat'amuhaaa illaa man nashaaa'u biza'mihim wa an'aamun hurrimat zuhooruhaa wa an'aamul laa yazkuroonas mal laahi 'alaihaf tiraaa'an 'alaiyyh; sa yajzeehim bimaa kaanoo yaftaroon
﴾139﴿ Wa qaaloo maa fee butooni haazihil an'aami khaalisatul lizukoorinaa wa muharramun 'alaaa azwaajinaa wa iny yakum maitatan fahum feehi shurakaaa'; sa yajzeehim wasfahum; innahoo Hakeemun 'Aleem

﴾137﴿ And in the view of many polytheists, He has embellished the killing of his children (Love) their helper until they kill them And to confuse them with their religion, and if Allah the Exalted had willed, they would not have done this So leave them alone with the lies they tell
﴾138﴿ And they say that this livestock and cultivation is forbidden, no one should eat it unless we want to agree, in their opinions, and the cattle that have been forbidden their backs (for riding and carrying loads) And there are cattle that do not say the name of Allah Almighty over them (only) they lied on Allah Almighty, will soon punish them for what they slander
﴾139﴿ And they say that what is in the stomach of these animals (milk and baby) is special for men and is forbidden for our women, And if there is a dead child, then they are copartner in it, soon he will punish them for their false statement indeed He is the owner of wisdom, knowing everything

[137] This is also a refutation of making vows (nadhr) for other than Allah—where they dedicate their children in the name of others besides Allah and give them to shrine caretakers and spiritual beggars. (This symbolic dedication is a form of killing.) Sometimes, they even slaughter their children in the name of others besides Allah. This is found among Hindus and some Shi‘a groups—where they dedicate their daughters in the name of saints or shrines to beggars and their descendants, and even marry them off. This is shirk (polytheism), and such marriages are invalid.
(Shurakā’uhum) — this refers either to the love of false deities or to the shrine caretakers and spiritual figures.
In (qatl awlādihim) — burying sons and daughters alive is also included.
(Li-yurdoohum) — indicates that vows made for other than Allah lead to the fire of Hell.
(Dīnuhum) — either refers to the religion of Islam upon which mankind was created, or the religion of Ibrahim and Isma‘il (peace be upon them), which the Arab polytheists claimed to follow.
(Wa law shā’a Allah) — the object is omitted; it implies “saving the people from associating partners (with Him).”
[138] This is a refutation of prohibitions made in the name of other than Allah, and it mentions three types of such practices.
(Illā man nashā’) — refers to the shrine caretakers or spiritual beggars (malangs), meaning those to whom they would allow consumption or use.
(Hādhihi) — refers to what was mentioned in verse 136, such as “this is for our partners” (idols), or to those animals and crops which they had designated.
(Ḥijr) — this word is used equally for masculine, feminine, singular, and plural. It means “forbidden” or “sacred.”
(Ḥurimat ẓuhūruhā) — refers to the prohibition of riding or loading them with goods; these are animals like Bahīrah, Sā’ibah, and Hām.
(Lā yadhkurūn) — either they invoke the names of others besides Allah at the time of slaughter, or it means they do not mention Allah in religious matters.
(Iftirā’an) — applies to all three types; they falsely attribute these things to Allah the Exalted.
[139] This is also a refutation of prohibitions made in the name of other than Allah. It refers to the practice where the offspring of certain livestock—if born alive—were considered forbidden for women, which caused harm to them. But if the offspring was born dead, then women would be given a share of it.
(Mā fī buṭūnihā) — is general and includes both the offspring and the milk, on the condition that the offspring is born alive.
(Khāliṣah, wa muḥarram) — the “tā” at the end is not for femininity but for emphasis. That’s why muḥarram (forbidden) is mentioned in the masculine form, following the original grammatical rule. Thus, khāliṣah here means "permissible" with a specific exclusivity.
(Waṣfahum) — waṣf here means their claims or statements, and the implied word jazā’ (recompense or consequence) is understood but omitted. The detailed explanation of waṣfahum is found in verse 116 of Surah An-Nahl.