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Ayah
Word by Word
فَٱسۡتَفۡتِهِمۡ
Then ask them
أَلِرَبِّكَ
Does your Lord
ٱلۡبَنَاتُ
(have) daughters
وَلَهُمُ
while for them
ٱلۡبَنُونَ
(are) sons
فَٱسۡتَفۡتِهِمۡ
Then ask them
أَلِرَبِّكَ
Does your Lord
ٱلۡبَنَاتُ
(have) daughters
وَلَهُمُ
while for them
ٱلۡبَنُونَ
(are) sons
Translation
So inquire of them, [O Muḥammad], "Does your Lord have daughters while they have sons?1
Footnotes
1 - The people of Makkah claimed that the angels were daughters of Allāh, yet they preferred sons for themselves.
Tafsir
So ask them, inquire of the Meccan disbelievers, by way of reproach: are daughters to be for your Lord, after their claim that the angels were God's daughters, while sons are to be for them?, so that the best becomes exclusively theirs?
Refutation of Those Who attribute Children to Allah and say that the Angels are His Daughters
Allah denounces those idolators who attribute daughters to Allah -- exalted be He above that -- and attributed to themselves what they desired, i.e., they wanted male offspring to themselves.
وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُمْ بِالاٍّنْثَى ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ
And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief! (16:58),
i.e., that upsets him, and he would only choose sons for himself.
Allah says:`Then how can they attribute to Allah the share that they would not choose for themselves'
Allah says:
فَاسْتَفْتِهِمْ
Now ask them,
means, quiz them by way of denunciation,
أَلِرَبِّكَ الْبَنَاتُ وَلَهُمُ الْبَنُونَ
Are there (only) daughters for your Lord and sons for them,
This is like the Ayah:
أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الاٍّنثَى
تِلْكَ إِذاً قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزَى
Is it for you the males and for Him the females? That indeed is a division most unfair! (53:21-22)
أَمْ خَلَقْنَا الْمَلَيِكَةَ إِنَاثًا وَهُمْ شَاهِدُونَ
Or did We create the angels female while they were witnesses!
means, how did they decide that the angels are female when they did not witness their creation?
This is like the Ayah:
وَجَعَلُواْ الْمَلَـيِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـنِ إِنَـثاً أَشَهِدُواْ خَلْقَهُمْ سَتُكْتَبُ شَهَـدَتُهُمْ وَيُسْـَلُونَ
And they make the angels females who themselves are servants of the Most Gracious. Did they witness their creation Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned! (43:19),
which means, they will be questioned about that on the Day of Resurrection
أَلَا إِنَّهُم مِّنْ إِفْكِهِمْ
Verily, it is of their falsehood,
means, it is a part of the lies they tell.
لَيَقُولُونَ
وَلَدَ اللَّهُ
that they say:Allah has begotten.
meaning, that offspring have been born to Him.
وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ
And verily, they are liars!
Allah mentions three of the things;
they said about the angels, which formed the utmost disbelief and falsehood.
They said that they were the daughters of Allah and that Allah had offspring -- exalted and sanctified be He above that.
Then they made these offspring female, then they worshipped them instead of Allah, exalted and sanctified be He -- any of which on its own would be sufficient to condemn them to spend eternity in Hell.
Then Allah says, denouncing them:
أَصْطَفَى الْبَنَاتِ عَلَى الْبَنِينَ
Has He (then) chosen daughters rather than sons!
meaning, what would make Him choose daughters rather than sons?
This is like the Ayah,
أَفَأَصْفَـكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِالْبَنِينَ وَاتَّخَذَ مِنَ الْمَلَـيِكَةِ إِنَاثًا إِنَّكُمْ لَتَقُولُونَ قَوْلاً عَظِيمًا
Has then your Lord preferred for you sons, and taken for Himself from among the angels daughters Verily, you indeed utter an awful saying. (17:40)
Allah says:
مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ
What is the matter with you How do you decide!
meaning, `what kind of reasoning makes you say that!'
أَفَلَ تَذَكَّرُونَ
أَمْ لَكُمْ سُلْطَانٌ مُّبِينٌ
Will you not then remember Or is there for you a plain authority!
means, `evidence to prove what you say.'
فَأْتُوا بِكِتَابِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Then bring your Book if you are truthful!
means, `produce evidence for that derived from a Book revealed from heaven by Allah, to prove that He has taken what you say (i.e., offspring). What you say is totally irrational.
وَجَعَلُوا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجِنَّةِ نَسَبًا
And they have invented a kinship between Him and the Jinn,
Mujahid said,
The idolators said that the angels were the daughters of Allah.
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, `Then who are their mothers?'
They said, `The daughters of the leaders of the Jinn.'
Qatadah and Ibn Zayd also said this. Allah -- may He be blessed and exalted -- says:
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمَتِ الْجِنَّةُ
but the jinn know,
meaning, those to whom this is attributed
إِنَّهُمْ لَمُحْضَرُونَ
know well that they have indeed to appear (before Him).
means, that those who say that will be brought forth for punishment on the Day of Reckoning, because of the lies and falsehood that they uttered without knowledge.
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ
Glorified be Allah! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him!
means, exalted, sanctified and glorified be He far above having any offspring and far above what the wrongdoers and heretics attribute to Him.
إِلاَّ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصِينَ
Except the servants of Allah, whom He chooses.
The pronoun in the verb translated as they attribute refers to all of mankind, then He excludes those whom He chooses, who are the ones who follow the truth revealed to every Prophet who was sent
No One believes what the Idolators say except Those Who are even more misguided than They
Allah says, addressing the idolators:
فَإِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ
مَا أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ بِفَاتِنِينَ
إِلاَّ مَنْ هُوَ صَالِ الْجَحِيمِ
So, verily you and those whom you worship cannot lead astray, except those who are predestined to burn in Hell!
meaning, `the only ones who will believe what you say and follow your misguided ways of false worship are those who are more misguided than you and are created for Hell.'
لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لاَّ يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لاَّ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ ءَاذَانٌ لاَّ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَأ أُوْلَـيِكَ كَالَانْعَـمِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُوْلَـيِكَ هُمُ الْغَـفِلُونَ
They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones. (7:179)
This is the parable of the people who follow the belief and ideas of Shirk, disbelief and misguidance, as Allah says:
إِنَّكُمْ لَفِى قَوْلٍ مُّخْتَلِفٍ
يُوْفَكُ عَنْهُ مَنْ أُفِكَ
Certainly, you have different ideas. Turned aside therefrom is he who is turned aside (by the decree of Allah). (51:8-9)
meaning, the one who is misled by it is the one who is turned aside.
The Place of the Angels and Their Ranks glorify Allah
Then Allah says, declaring the angels to be above the position attributed to them by those who disbelieved in them and told lies about them -- that they are the daughters of Allah --
وَمَا مِنَّا إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ
And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place;
meaning, each one has his own place in the heavens and in the places of worship, which he does not overstep.
Ad-Dahhak said in his Tafsir:
وَمَا مِنَّا إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ
And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place;
Masruq used to narrate that A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said,
The Messenger of Allah said:
مَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا مَوْضِعٌ إِلاَّ عَلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ سَاجِدٌ أَوْ قَايِم
There is no place in the lower heaven without an angel standing or prostrating in it.
This is what Allah says:
وَمَا مِنَّا إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ
And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place (or position).
It was reported that Ibn Mas`ud said,
In the heavens there is one heaven in which there is no space a hand span wide but there is the forehead or the foot of an angel on it.
Then he recited:
وَمَا مِنَّا إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ
(And there is not one of us (angels) but has his known place;)
Sa`id bin Jubayr similarly said:
وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّافُّونَ
And we (angels), we stand in rows.
means, we stand in rows to worship, as we have already seen in the Ayah
وَالصَّـفَّـتِ صَفَّا
(By those ranged in ranks (or rows).
Abu Nadrah said,
When the Iqamah had been given, Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would turn to face the people and say:
`Make your rows straight, for Allah wants you to follow the ways of the angels.'
Then he would say,
وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّافُّونَ
(And verily, we stand in rows;) `Move back, O so-and-so, move forward, O so-and-so.' Then he would go forward and say `Allahu Akbar'
This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir.
In Sahih Muslim it is narrated that Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
The Messenger of Allah said,
فُضِّلْنَا عَلَى النَّاسِ بِثَلَثٍ
جُعِلَتْ صُفُوفُنَا كَصُفُوفِ الْمَلَيِكَةِ
وَجُعِلَتْ لَنَا الاَْرْضُ مَسْجِدًا
وَتُرْبَتُهَا طَهُورًا
We have been favored above mankind in three things:
our rows have been made like the rows of the angels;
the whole earth has been made a place of prayer for us;
and its soil is a means of purification for us.
وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الْمُسَبِّحُونَ
And verily, we indeed are those who glorify.
means, `we stand in rows and glorify the Lord, praising Him, sanctifying Him and declaring Him to be above any faults or shortcomings. We are servants of Him and in need of Him, humbling ourselves before Him.'
The Quraysh wished that They could have a Reminder as had the Men of old
Allah says,
وَإِنْ كَانُوا لَيَقُولُونَ
لَوْ أَنَّ عِندَنَا ذِكْرًا مِّنْ الاَْوَّلِينَ
لَكُنَّا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصِينَ
And indeed they used to say:If we had a reminder as had the men of old, we would have indeed been the chosen servants of Allah!
means, `they used to wish -- before you, O Muhammad, came to them -- that they would have someone to remind them about Allah and what happened in earlier times, and to bring them the Book of Allah.'
This is like the Ayat:
وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ لَيِن جَأءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ لَّيَكُونُنَّ أَهْدَى مِنْ إِحْدَى الاٍّمَمِ فَلَمَّا جَأءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ مَّا زَادَهُمْ إِلاَّ نُفُوراً
And they swore by Allah their most binding oath that if a warner came to them, they would be more guided than any of the nations (before them); yet when a warner came to them, it increased in them naught but flight (from the truth). (35:42)
and,
أَن تَقُولُواْ إِنَّمَأ أُنزِلَ الْكِتَـبُ عَلَى طَأيِفَتَيْنِ مِن قَبْلِنَا وَإِن كُنَّا عَن دِرَاسَتِهِمْ لَغَـفِلِينَ
أَوْ تَقُولُواْ لَوْ أَنَّأ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْكِتَـبُ لَكُنَّأ أَهْدَى مِنْهُمْ فَقَدْ جَأءَكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن كَذَّبَ بِأيَـتِ اللَّهِ وَصَدَفَ عَنْهَا سَنَجْزِى الَّذِينَ يَصْدِفُونَ عَنْ ايَـتِنَا سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَصْدِفُونَ
Lest you should say:
The Book was sent down only to two sects before us, and for our part, we were in fact unaware of what they studied.
Or lest you should say:
If only the Book had been sent down to us, we would surely have been better guided than they.
So now has come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, and a form of guidance and a mercy. Who then does more wrong than one who rejects the Ayat of Allah and turns away therefrom We shall requite those who turn away from Our Ayat with an evil torment, because of their turning away. (6:156-157)
Allah says here:
فَكَفَرُوا بِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ
But they disbelieve therein, so they will come to know!
This is a definite and stern threat because of their disbelief in their Lord and their rejection of His Messenger.
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