The Holy Quran 6:137 — Surah Al-An'am

Arabic text

وَكَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ قَتْلَ أَوْلَـٰدِهِمْ شُرَكَآؤُهُمْ لِيُرْدُوهُمْ وَلِيَلْبِسُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ دِينَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا فَعَلُوهُ ۖ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ

Translation

In this manner (as We have beautified this distribution for them) their partners have beautified the murder of their children for many of the Mushrikeen (leading them to bury their daughters alive or to sacrifice their sons in the name of idols) to destroy them and to confuse (obscure) their religion for them. If Allaah wills, they would not do so (but He allows them to continue for wise reasons best known to Him). So leave them to their devices.

Tafsir (excerpt) — Tafsir Usmani

The killing of children: here Mujahid has interpreted “partners” as “devils”. One example of the extreme ignorance and hard-heartedness of the idolaters was that some would kill their daughters for fear of becoming [someone's] father-in-law, and some would kill their own children out of worry over how they would feed them.

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