بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُن لَّهُۥ صَـٰحِبَةٌ ۖ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ 101
Translations
[He is] Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He does not have a companion [i.e., wife] and He created all things? And He is, of all things, Knowing.
Transliteration
Badīʿu as-samāwāti wa-al-arḍ. Annā yakūnu lahu waladun wa-lam takun lahu ṣāḥibatun wa-khalaqa kulla shayʾin wa-huwa bi-kulli shayʾin ʿalīm.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms Allah's absolute oneness (Tawhīd) by declaring Him the Originator of the heavens and earth without precedent or example. The ayah refutes the pagan Arab belief in offspring of Allah and the Christian doctrine of divine sonship, emphasizing that Allah has no consort or wife, and therefore logically cannot have children. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note that this ayah uses rational argument (qiyās): since Allah created all things and is all-knowing, His nature is completely distinct from creation, making procreation impossible for Him.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-An'am (Meccan), which was revealed during the Meccan period and addresses fundamental Islamic doctrine. The surah extensively refutes polytheism and idolatry prevalent among the Quraysh. This particular ayah responds directly to pre-Islamic Arab beliefs and Christian theological claims regarding divine offspring, presenting logical proofs for Allah's absolute uniqueness.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah (shirk)' (Sahih Bukhari 2654). Related thematically, the hadith qudsi: 'Allah said: I am so self-sufficient that I am not in need of having a partner' (Sahih Muslim 2677), emphasizing Allah's absolute independence and completeness.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that Allah's nature is fundamentally different from creation, beyond human categories and limitations, inviting believers to contemplate the logical impossibility of associating partners with the Creator. For modern readers, it encourages rational reflection on faith and provides intellectual grounds to reject idolatry in all its forms, whether literal or metaphorical, reminding us of Allah's perfect self-sufficiency and our complete dependence on Him.
Related Ayahs
قُلْ أَرَءَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَىٰكُمْ عَذَابُ ٱللَّهِ بَغْتَةً أَوْ جَهْرَةً هَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلَّا ٱلْقَوْمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ
Say, "Have you considered: if the punishment of Allāh should come to you unexpectedly or manifestly, will any be destroyed but the wrongdoing people?"
وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا يَـٰمَعْشَرَ ٱلْجِنِّ قَدِ ٱسْتَكْثَرْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ ۖ وَقَالَ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُم مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ رَبَّنَا ٱسْتَمْتَعَ بَعْضُنَا بِبَعْضٍ وَبَلَغْنَآ أَجَلَنَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَجَّلْتَ لَنَا ۚ قَالَ ٱلنَّارُ مَثْوَىٰكُمْ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], the Day when He will gather them together [and say], "O company of jinn, you have [misled] many of mankind." And their allies among mankind will say, "Our Lord, some of us made use of others, and we have [now] reached our term which You appointed for us." He will say, "The Fire is your residence, wherein you will abide eternally, except for what Allāh wills. Indeed, your Lord is Wise and Knowing."
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلْحُكْمَ وَٱلنُّبُوَّةَ ۚ فَإِن يَكْفُرْ بِهَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ فَقَدْ وَكَّلْنَا بِهَا قَوْمًا لَّيْسُوا۟ بِهَا بِكَـٰفِرِينَ
Those are the ones to whom We gave the Scripture and authority and prophethood. But if they [i.e., the disbelievers] deny it, then We have entrusted it to a people who are not therein disbelievers.
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِىَ إِلَىَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَىْءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثْلَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْ تَرَىٰٓ إِذِ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ فِى غَمَرَٰتِ ٱلْمَوْتِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ بَاسِطُوٓا۟ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمُ ۖ ٱلْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ غَيْرَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allāh or says, "It has been inspired to me," while nothing has been inspired to him, and one who says, "I will reveal [something] like what Allāh revealed." And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], "Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allāh other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant."