وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَا تَصِفُ أَلْسِنَتُكُمُ الْكَذِبَ هَذَا حَلَالٌ وَهَذَا حَرَامٌ لِتَفْتَرُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ لَا يُفْلِحُونَ ﴿۱۱۶﴾ مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴿۱۱۷﴾ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ هَادُوا حَرَّمْنَا مَا قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمَا ظَلَمْنَاهُمْ وَلَكِنْ كَانُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ﴿۱۱۸﴾

﴾116﴿ Wa laa taqooloo limaa tasifu alsinatukumul kaziba haaza halaalunw wa haazaa haraamul litaftaroo 'alal laahil kazib; innal lazeena yaftaroona 'alal laahil kaziba laa yuflihoon
﴾117﴿ Mata'un qaleelunw wa lahum 'azaabun aleem
﴾118﴿ Wa 'alal lazeena haadoo harramnaa ma qasasnaa 'alaika min qablu wa maa zalamanaahum wa laakin kaanoo anfusahum yazlimoon

﴾116﴿ And do not say, regarding what your tongues falsely describe, "This is lawful and this is unlawful," to fabricate lies against Allah. Indeed, those who fabricate lies against Allah will not succeed
﴾117﴿ They will have brief enjoyment, but for them is a painful punishment
﴾118﴿ And for those who were Jews, We prohibited what We previously mentioned to you. And We did not wrong them, but they used to wrong themselves

[116] In this verse, there is a refutation of the polytheists' practice of declaring things lawful or unlawful (تحلیل و تحریم) according to their own desires—following the clarification of its ruling in the two previous verses.
The key point here is that declaring ḥalāl and ḥarām is not in the hands of creation, but solely in Allah’s authority.
The verse explicitly states that whoever declares something ḥalāl or ḥarām from themselves is fabricating a lie (افتراء) against Allah.
Such a person will not be safe from Allah’s punishment.
"(لِمَا تَصِفُ)" — the "لِـ" here is Lām of causation (لامُ العِلّة), meaning: because of what your tongues describe falsely.
"(هَذَا حَلَالٌ)" — this is either the quoted speech of what they say (the object of قول), or the Lām is Lām of explanation (شأنیه)—clarifying the subject matter being falsely described.
"(الْكَذِبَ)" is the direct object of "لَا تَقُولُوا" ("Do not say"), and "هَذَا حَلَالٌ وَهَذَا حَرَامٌ" serves as the explanation (tafsīr) of what that lie (کذب) is.
[117] This verse is a response to a potential question or objection: the polytheists are seen enjoying abundant blessings in this world—so does that mean they are upon the truth?
The answer given is: this is only a temporary enjoyment—"(مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ)"—a short-lived benefit of the worldly life that will soon end.
The phrase "(مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ)" ("a little enjoyment") can be understood in two grammatical ways:
1. The predicate (خبر) of an implied subject (لَهُمْ), meaning: for them is a brief enjoyment.
2. Or the subject (مبتدأ) is omitted, such as "مَتَاعُهُمْ مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ" ("their enjoyment is a little enjoyment").
This response exposes the false assumption that worldly comfort equals divine approval, and reminds that such comfort is temporary and deceptive.
[118] This verse refers to a specific prohibition placed upon the Jews, and the main purpose of mentioning it here is to serve as a warning (تخویف).
The message is: Just as their transgression (بَغْي) led to certain blessings being forbidden for them, if you (O polytheists or believers) were to transgress in a similar way, Allah may likewise restrict or take away blessings from you.
The detailed explanation of this ruling appears in:
Surah Al-An‘ām, verse 146, and
Surah An-Nisā’, verse 160.
So this verse uses the example of previous nations to emphasize the consequences of rebellion against divine guidance.