Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:120
And leave what is apparent of sin and what is concealed thereof. Indeed, those who earn [blame for] sin will be recompensed for that which they used to commit.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The exposition of the interpretation of His word: وَذَرُوا ظَاهِرَ الإِثْمِ وَبَاطِنَهُ (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose mention is blessed, says: And forsake, O people, the open sin — and that is the outward of it — and the hidden of it — and that is the inward of it. Thus:
13794- Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it), that is to say: the little of it and the much of it, and the hidden of it and the open of it.
13795- Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it), he said: the hidden of it and the open of it.
13796- Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas concerning His word: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it), he says: the hidden of it and the open of it — and His word: مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ (what is open of them and what is hidden) [sūrat al-Aʿrāf: 33], he said: the hidden of it and the open of it.
13797- Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas concerning His word: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it), he said: Allah forbade the outward of sin and the inward of it, that one act with it in secret or in the open, and that is the outward and the inward of it.
13798- Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it), disobedience to Allah in secret and in the open.
13799- Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it), he said: it is that which he intends of what he will do.
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Then the exegetes differed concerning what is meant by the outward of sin and the inward of it, in this place.
Some of them said: "The outward of it" is what the Exalted, whose praise is blessed, forbade with His word: وَلا تَنْكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آبَاؤُكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ (And do not marry the women whom your fathers have married) [sūrat al-Nisāʾ: 22], and His word: حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَّهَاتُكُمْ (Forbidden to you are your mothers) the verse, and "the inward of it" is fornication.
* Mention of who said that:
13800- Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning His word: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it), he said: the outward of it is: وَلا تَنْكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آبَاؤُكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ إِلا مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ (And do not marry the women whom your fathers have married, except what has already passed), and the mothers and the daughters and the sisters — "and the inward": fornication.
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And others said: "The outward" are the harlots with banners, and "the inward" are the women taken secretly as mistresses.
* Mention of who said that:
13801- Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (And forsake the outward of sin and the inward of it) as for "the outward of it": those are the harlots in the shops, and as for "the inward of it": that is the female companion whom a man takes for himself and comes to in secret.