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
ذَٰلِكَ مِمَّآ أَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ رَبُّكَ مِنَ ٱلْحِكْمَةِ ۗ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَتُلْقَىٰ فِى جَهَنَّمَ مَلُومًا مَّدْحُورًا
That is from what your Lord has revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], of wisdom. And, [O mankind], do not make [as equal] with Allāh another deity, lest you be thrown into Hell, blamed and banished.
قُلْ هُوَ ٱلَّذِى ذَرَأَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
Say, "It is He who has multiplied you throughout the earth, and to Him you will be gathered."
سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْأَزْوَٰجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Exalted is He who created all pairs - from what the earth grows and from themselves and from that which they do not know.
وَجَعَلُوا۟ لِلَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ ٱلْجِنَّ وَخَلَقَهُمْ ۖ وَخَرَقُوا۟ لَهُۥ بَنِينَ وَبَنَـٰتٍۭ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ
But they have attributed to Allāh partners - the jinn, while He has created them - and have fabricated for Him sons and daughters without knowledge. Exalted is He and high above what they describe.