أَفَأَصْفَىٰكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِٱلْبَنِينَ وَٱتَّخَذَ مِنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنَـٰثًا ۚ إِنَّكُمْ لَتَقُولُونَ قَوْلًا عَظِيمًا 40
Translations
Then, has your Lord chosen you for [having] sons and taken [i.e., adopted] from among the angels daughters? Indeed, you say a grave saying.
Transliteration
Afa-asfaka rabbukum bi-al-banina wa-ittakhaza mina al-mala'ikati inathan inna-kum la-taquluna qawlan aziman
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah rebukes the pagan Arabs for their illogical claim that Allah has daughters (the angels) while they themselves desired sons. The verse employs rhetorical irony to expose the absurdity and grave error of attributing female offspring to Allah while preferring male children for themselves. Ibn Kathir notes this represents a profound contradiction and a 'mighty word' (qawlan aziman)—meaning a grave and false statement that borders on blasphemy against Allah's majesty and perfect attributes.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in Mecca addressing the polytheists' false beliefs about angels being Allah's daughters, a doctrine they inherited from pre-Islamic Arabian and broader Near Eastern pagan traditions. The broader context of Surah Al-Isra establishes Islamic monotheism and refutes various false doctrines, with this verse specifically targeting the illogical gender attribution to divine beings.
Related Hadiths
The theme is reinforced in various reports about the pre-Islamic Arabs' beliefs. Related to the refutation of shirk (associating partners with Allah), see Sahih Al-Bukhari's chapters on Tawhid, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) condemned all forms of false attribution to Allah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to recognize the logical contradictions within false belief systems and to maintain unwavering conviction in Allah's absolute oneness and transcendence beyond human categories; it also subtly challenges believers to examine their own inconsistencies between stated beliefs and actual practices.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَانِتًا لِّلَّهِ حَنِيفًا وَلَمْ يَكُ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ
Indeed, Abraham was a [comprehensive] leader, devoutly obedient to Allāh, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associate others with Allāh.
رَّبُّ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَٱتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا
[He is] the Lord of the East and the West; there is no deity except Him, so take Him as Disposer of [your] affairs.
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا۟ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَن نَّدْعُوَا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِلَـٰهًا ۖ لَّقَدْ قُلْنَآ إِذًا شَطَطًا
And We bound [i.e., made firm] their hearts when they stood up and said, "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never will we invoke besides Him any deity. We would have certainly spoken, then, an excessive transgression.
وَٱتَّبَعْتُ مِلَّةَ ءَابَآءِىٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ ۚ مَا كَانَ لَنَآ أَن نُّشْرِكَ بِٱللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ
And I have followed the religion of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And it was not for us to associate anything with Allāh. That is from the favor of Allāh upon us and upon the people, but most of the people are not grateful.