سُوْرَةُ الإِسۡرَاءِ
Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 31
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَوْلَـٰدَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَـٰقٍ ۖ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ قَتْلَهُمْ كَانَ خِطْـًٔا كَبِيرًا ﴿31﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And kill not your children for fear of poverty. We shall provide for them as well as for you. Surely, the killing of them is a great sin.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَلَا
walā
And (do) not
تَقْتُلُوٓا۟
taqtulū
kill
أَوْلَـٰدَكُمْ
awlādakum
your children
خَشْيَةَ
khashyata
(for) fear
إِمْلَـٰقٍۢ ۖ
im'lāqin
(of) poverty
نَّحْنُ
naḥnu
We
نَرْزُقُهُمْ
narzuquhum
(We) provide for them
وَإِيَّاكُمْ ۚ
wa-iyyākum
and for you
إِنَّ
inna
Indeed
قَتْلَهُمْ
qatlahum
their killing
كَانَ
kāna
is
خِطْـًۭٔا
khiṭ'an
a sin
كَبِيرًۭا
kabīran
great
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
31. 1. This verse has also appeared in Surah Al-An'am, 151. In the hadith, it is mentioned that after shirk, the greatest sin declared by the Prophet ﷺ is this: "an taqtula waladaka khashyata an yat'ama ma'ak." (Sahih Bukhari) — "that you kill your child out of fear that he will eat with you." Nowadays, the grave sin of killing children is being committed on a large scale throughout the world under the attractive title of family planning, and men, in the name of "better education and upbringing," and women, to "maintain their beauty," are commonly committing this crime. May Allah protect us from it.
