"And when the girl [who was] buried alive is asked," these were the daughters of the people of the Pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah) who used to bury them alive for two reasons: As for one of them, they used to say: "Indeed, the angels are the daughters of Allah, so they attributed the daughters to Him, claiming He was more entitled to them." As for the other reason: it was out of fear of poverty.
﴿وَإِذا الموءدة سُئلت﴾ وَهِيَ بَنَاتُ أَهْلِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ كَانُوا يدفنونهنَّ أَحْيَاءً، لِخَصْلَتَيْنِ: أَمَّا إِحْدَاهُمَا فَكَانُوا يَقُولُونَ: إِنَّ الْمَلائِكَةَ بناتُ اللَّهِ، فَأَلْحِقُوا الْبَنَاتِ بِهِ فَهُوَ أحقُّ بِهِنَّ، وَأَمَّا الْخَصْلَةُ الأُخْرَى: فمخافة الْحَاجة.
