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Chapter 6

Cattleal-Anʿām ( الأنعام )

165 verses • revealed at Meccan

»The surah that debunks as a mere forgery against the Law of God the forbidden practices of Pre-Islamic Arabia with regard to the sacrifice, distribution, and consumption of Cattle—and all such systems that arbitrarily impose upon people meaningless sacrifices, offerings, and prohibitions in the name of ungodly ideas and lifeless idols, which lead invariably to the impoverishment of women and the poor, and the institutionalization, thereby, of infanticide. It takes its name from “the cattle” (al-anʿām) mentioned in verse 136 ff. which deal with pagan superstitions and certain regulations related to cattle. The surah in its entirety makes plain that it is God who creates, controls, and sees everything, and that it is to Him that we turn in times of need. Thus it gives a lengthy refutation of the idolaters” claims.«

The surah is also known as The Livestock

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

A. J. Arberry: In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

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الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُماتِ وَالنّورَ ۖ ثُمَّ الَّذينَ كَفَروا بِرَبِّهِم يَعدِلونَ

A. J. Arberry

Praise belongs to God who created the heavens and the earth and appointed the shadows and light; then the unbelievers ascribe equals to their Lord.