Az-Zukhruf: 17

Ayah

Word by Word

وَإِذَا

And when

بُشِّرَ

is given good news

أَحَدُهُم

(to) one of them

بِمَا

of what

ضَرَبَ

he sets up

لِلرَّحۡمَٰنِ

for the Most Gracious

مَثَلٗا

(as) a likeness

ظَلَّ

becomes

وَجۡهُهُۥ

his face

مُسۡوَدّٗا

dark

وَهُوَ

and he

كَظِيمٌ

(is) filled with grief

Translation

When news is brought to one of them of (the birth of) what he sets up as a likeness to (Allah) Most Gracious, his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief!

Tafsir

Condemnation of the Idolators' attribution of Offspring to Allah

Here Allah speaks of the lies and fabrications of the idolators, when they devoted some of their cattle to their false gods and some to Allah, as He described in Surah Al-An`am where He said:

وَجَعَلُواۡ لِلَّهِ مِمَّا ذَرَأَ مِنَ الۡحَرۡثِ وَالاٌّنۡعَامِ نَصِيباً فَقَالُواۡ هَـذَا لِلَّهِ بِزَعۡمِهِمۡ وَهَـذَا لِشُرَكَأيِنَا فَمَا كَانَ لِشُرَكَأيِهِمۡ فَلَ يَصِلُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ فَهُوَ يَصِلُ إِلَى شُرَكَأيِهِمۡ سَأءَ مَا يَحۡكُمُونَ

And they assign to Allah share of the tilth and cattle which He has created, and they say:This is for Allah according to their claim, and this is for our partners. But the share of their partners reaches not Allah, while the share of Allah reaches their partners! Evil is the way they judge! (6:136).

Similarly, out of the two kinds of offspring, sons and daughters, they assigned to Him the worst and least valuable (in their eyes), i.e., daughters, as Allah says:

أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الاٍّنثَى

تِلۡكَ إِذاً قِسۡمَةٌ ضِيزَى

Is it for you the males and for Him the females That indeed is a division most unfair! (53:21-22)

And Allah says here:

وَجَعَلُوا لَهُ مِنۡ عِبَادِهِ جُزۡءًا

إِنَّ الاِۡنسَانَ لَكَفُورٌ مُّبِينٌ

Yet, they assign to some of His servants a share with Him. Verily, man is indeed a manifest ingrate!

Then He says:

أَمِ اتَّخَذَ مِمَّا يَخۡلُقُ بَنَاتٍ وَأَصۡفَاكُم بِالۡبَنِينَ

Or has He taken daughters out of what He has created, and He has selected for you sons?

This is a denunciation of them in the strongest terms, as He goes on to say:

وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحۡمَنِ مَثَلًإ ظَلَّ وَجۡهُهُ مُسۡوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ

And if one of them is informed of the news of that which he sets forth as a parable to the Most Gracious, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with grief!

means, if one of these people is given the news that there has been born to him one of those which he attributes to Allah, i.e., a daughter, he hates this news and it depresses and overwhelms him so much that he keeps away from people because he feels so ashamed.

Allah says, so how can they dislike that so much and yet they attribute it to Allah

أَوَمَن يُنَشَّأُ فِي الۡحِلۡيَةِ وَهُوَ فِي الۡخِصَامِ غَيۡرُ مُبِينٍ

A creature who is brought up in adornments, and who in dispute cannot make itself clear,

means, women are regarded as lacking something, which they make up for with jewelry and adornments from the time of childhood onwards, and when there is a dispute, they cannot speak up and defend themselves clearly, so how can this be attributed to Alla

وَجَعَلُوا الۡمَلَيِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمۡ عِبَادُ الرَّحۡمَنِ إِنَاثًا

And they make females the angels who themselves are servants of the Most Gracious.

means, that is what they believe about them, but Allah denounces them for that and says:

أَشَهِدُوا خَلۡقَهُمۡ

Did they witness their creation?

meaning, did they see Allah creating them as females

سَتُكۡتَبُ شَهَادَتُهُمۡ

Their testimony will be recorded,

means, concerning that,

وَيُسۡأَلُونَ

and they will be questioned!

means, about that, on the Day of Resurrection.

This is a stern warning and a serious threat

وَقَالُوا لَوۡ شَاء الرَّحۡمَنُ مَا عَبَدۡنَاهُم

And they said:If it had been the will of the Most Gracious, we should not have worshipped them.

means, (they said:) `if Allah had willed, He would have prevented us from worshipping these idols which are images of the angels who are the daughters of Allah; He knows about this and He approves of it.'

By saying this, they combined several types of error:

First:They attributed offspring to Allah -- exalted and sanctified be He far above that.

Second:They claimed that He chose daughters rather than sons, and they made the angels, who are the servants of the Most Gracious, female.

Third:They worshipped them with no proof, evidence or permission from Allah. This was based on mere opinion, whims and desires, imitation of their elders and forefathers, and pure ignorance. They used Allah's decree as an excuse, and this reasoning betrayed their ignorance.

Fourth:Allah denounced them for this in the strongest terms, for from the time He first sent Messengers and revealed Books, the command was to worship Him Alone with no partner or associate, and it was forbidden to worship anything other than Him.

Allah says:

وَلَقَدۡ بَعَثۡنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعۡبُدُواۡ اللَّهَ وَاجۡتَنِبُواۡ الۡطَّـغُوتَ فَمِنۡهُم مَّنۡ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنۡهُمۡ مَّنۡ حَقَّتۡ عَلَيۡهِ الضَّلَـلَةُ فَسِيرُواۡ فِى الاٌّرۡضِ فَانظُرُواۡ كَيۡفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الۡمُكَذِّبِينَ

And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming):Worship Allah, and avoid all false deities.

Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified.

So travel through the land and see what was the end of those who denied. (16:36)

وَاسۡيلۡ مَنۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَا مِن قَبۡلِكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَأ أَجَعَلۡنَا مِن دُونِ الرَّحۡمَـنِ ءَالِهَةً يُعۡبَدُونَ

And ask those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you:Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Most Gracious (43:45)

And Allah says in this Ayah, after mentioning this argument of theirs:

مَّا لَهُم بِذَلِكَ مِنۡ عِلۡمٍ

They have no knowledge whatsoever of that.

meaning, of the truth of what they say and the arguments they put forward.

إِنۡ هُمۡ إِلاَّ يَخۡرُصُونَ

They do nothing but lie!

means, they tell lies and fabricate untruths.

Mujahid said about

مَّا لَهُم بِذَلِكَ مِنۡ عِلۡمٍ إِنۡ هُمۡ إِلاَّا يَخۡرُصُونَ

(They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do nothing but lie!),

They do not appreciate the power of Allah.

The Idolators have no Proof

Allah condemns the idolators for worshipping others instead of Allah with no evidence or proof for doing so.

أَمۡ اتَيۡنَاهُمۡ كِتَابًا مِّن قَبۡلِهِ

Or have We given them any Book before this?

means, before their idolatry.

فَهُم بِهِ مُسۡتَمۡسِكُونَ

to which they are holding fast,

means, with regard to what they are doing. This is not the case.

This is like the Ayah:

أَمۡ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ سُلۡطَـناً فَهُوَ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِمَا كَانُواۡ بِهِ يُشۡرِكُونَ

Or have We revealed to them an authority (a Scripture), which speaks of that which they have been associating with Him? (30:35)

meaning, that did not happen.

Then Allah says:

بَلۡ قَالُوا إِنَّا وَجَدۡنَا ابَاءنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى اثَارِهِم مُّهۡتَدُونَ

Nay! They say:

we found our fathers following a certain way and religion (Ummah), and we guide ourselves by their footsteps.

meaning, they have no grounds for their belief in idolatry apart from the fact that they are imitating their fathers and forefathers who were following a certain Ummah or way, i.e., religion.

The word Ummah is used in a similar manner elsewhere, where Allah says:

إِنَّ هَـذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمۡ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً

And verily, this your religion (Ummah) is one religion. (23:52),

and they said;

وَإِنَّا عَلَى اثَارِهِم

and we by their footsteps,

means, behind them.

مُّهۡتَدُونَ

We guide ourselves,

This is their claim with no evidence.

Then Allah points out that what these people say was already said by those who were like them among the nations of the past who disbelieved in the Messengers. Their hearts and their words are similar.

كَذَلِكَ مَأ أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ قَالُواۡ سَـحِرٌ أَوۡ مَجۡنُونٌ

أَتَوَاصَوۡاۡ بِهِ بَلۡ هُمۡ قَوۡمٌ طَـغُونَ

Likewise, no Messenger came to those before them but they said:A sorcerer or a madman!

Have they transmitted this saying to these?

Nay, they are themselves a people transgressing beyond bounds! (51:52-53)

And Allah says here:

وَكَذَلِكَ مَا أَرۡسَلۡنَا مِن قَبۡلِكَ فِي قَرۡيَةٍ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ إِلاَّ قَالَ مُتۡرَفُوهَا

إِنَّا وَجَدۡنَا ابَاءنَا عَلَى أُمَّةٍ وَإِنَّا عَلَى اثَارِهِم مُّقۡتَدُونَ

And similarly, We sent not a warner before you to any town (people) but the luxurious ones among them said:

We found our fathers following a certain way and religion, and we will indeed follow their footsteps.

Then He says:

قَالَ أَوَلَوۡ جِيۡتُكُم بِأَهۡدَى مِمَّا وَجَدتُّمۡ عَلَيۡهِ ابَاءكُمۡ

قَالُوا إِنَّا بِمَا أُرۡسِلۡتُم بِهِ كَافِرُونَ

He said:Even if I bring you better guidance than that which you found your fathers following

They said:Verily, we disbelieve in that with which you have been sent.

`Even if they were convinced of the truth of what you have brought to them, they will not follow it, because of their evil intentions and their arrogance towards the truth and its people.'

فَانتَقَمۡنَا مِنۡهُمۡ

So We took revenge on them,

means, on the disbelieving nations, by inflicting various kinds of punishments, as Allah has described in the stories of those nations.

فَانظُرۡ كَيۡفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الۡمُكَذِّبِينَ

then see what was the end of those who denied.

means, see what became of them, how they were destroyed and how Allah saved the believers.