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.