وَقَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَلَدًا ۗ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ ۚ بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُّكْرَمُونَ 26
Translations
And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants.
Transliteration
Wa qalū ittakhaza ar-rahmānu waladan, subhānahu, bal 'ibādun mukarramūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refutes the false claims of the polytheists who alleged that Allah (ar-Rahman, the Most Merciful) had taken a son, a claim attributed to both Arabian pagans and People of the Book. Allah responds with 'Subhānahu' (Glorified is He), affirming His absolute transcendence and oneness, then clarifies that the angels whom the disbelievers mistakenly revered as Allah's children are merely honored servants of Allah. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this addresses both the pagan belief in angelic daughters of Allah and Christian trinitarian concepts, establishing the fundamental Islamic doctrine of tawhid (divine oneness).
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Anbiya, revealed in Mecca during a period of intense rejection of Islamic monotheism. The broader context addresses accusations made by the Quraysh and other groups who ridiculed the concept of a God without offspring or partners. This ayah specifically counters polytheistic and deviant theological claims that were widespread in pre-Islamic Arabia and contemporary Jewish and Christian communities.
Related Hadiths
The concept is reinforced in the Hadith Qudsi: 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah (shirk), for Allah says: I am the Most Merciful of the merciful, yet you associate with Me that which has no power to harm or benefit' (Sunan Ibn Majah). Also relevant is the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet ﷺ emphasized that Allah has no son and no partners.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches Muslims to firmly reject any notion that compromises Allah's absolute uniqueness and oneness, and to understand that all creation—including the most honored beings like angels—are servants dependent on Allah's will. It calls believers to actively defend Islamic monotheism against both ancient and contemporary deviations from true belief in God's transcendence.
Related Ayahs
وَلَهُۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ كُلٌّ لَّهُۥ قَـٰنِتُونَ
And to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and earth. All are to Him devoutly obedient.
أَفَغَيْرَ دِينِ ٱللَّهِ يَبْغُونَ وَلَهُۥٓ أَسْلَمَ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُونَ
So is it other than the religion of Allāh they desire, while to Him have submitted [all] those within the heavens and earth, willingly or by compulsion, and to Him they will be returned?
أَفَمَن يَخْلُقُ كَمَن لَّا يَخْلُقُ ۗ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
Then is He who creates like one who does not create? So will you not be reminded?
لَقَدْ كَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْمَسِيحُ ٱبْنُ مَرْيَمَ ۖ وَقَالَ ٱلْمَسِيحُ يَـٰبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبَّكُمْ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ مَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَىٰهُ ٱلنَّارُ ۖ وَمَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ
They have certainly disbelieved who say, "Allāh is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allāh, my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allāh - Allāh has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.