37:156 As-Saaffaat (Those drawn up in Ranks)

{ أَمْ لَكُمْ سُلْطَانٌ مُبِينٌ } أي: حجة ظاهرة على قولكم، من كتاب أو رسول.

"أفلا تذكرون أم لكم سلطان مبين" أي حجة على ما تقولونه؟.

Refutation of Those Who attribute Children to Allah and say that the Angels are His Daughters

Allah denounces those idolators who attribute daughters to Allah -- exalted be He above that -- and attributed to themselves what they desired, i.e., they wanted male offspring to themselves.

وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُمْ بِالاٍّنْثَى ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ

(And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief!) (16:58), i.e., that upsets him, and he would only choose sons for himself. Allah says: `Then how can they attribute to Allah the share that they would not choose for themselves' Allah says:

فَاسْتَفْتِهِمْ

(Now ask them) means, quiz them by way of denunciation,

أَلِرَبِّكَ الْبَنَاتُ وَلَهُمُ الْبَنُونَ

(Are there (only) daughters for your Lord and sons for them) This is like the Ayah:

أَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ الاٍّنثَى - تِلْكَ إِذاً قِسْمَةٌ ضِيزَى

(Is it for you the males and for Him the females That indeed is a division most unfair!) (53:21-22).

أَمْ خَلَقْنَا الْمَلَـئِكَةَ إِنَـثاً وَهُمْ شَـهِدُونَ

(Or did We create the angels female while they were witnesses) means, how did they decide that the angels are female when they did not witness their creation This is like the Ayah:

وَجَعَلُواْ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـنِ إِنَـثاً أَشَهِدُواْ خَلْقَهُمْ سَتُكْتَبُ شَهَـدَتُهُمْ وَيُسْـَلُونَ

(And they make the angels females who themselves are servants of the Most Gracious. Did they witness their creation Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned!) (43:19), which means, they will be questioned about that on the Day of Resurrection.

أَلاَ إِنَّهُم مِّنْ إِفْكِهِمْ

(Verily, it is of their falsehood) means, it is a part of the lies they tell.

لَيَقُولُونَوَلَدَ اللَّهُ

(that they say: "Allah has begotten.") meaning, that offspring have been born to Him.

وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ

(And verily, they are liars!) Allah mentions three of the things they said about the angels, which formed the utmost disbelief and falsehood. They said that they were the daughters of Allah and that Allah had offspring -- exalted and sanctified be He above that. Then they made these offspring female, then they worshipped them instead of Allah, exalted and sanctified be He -- any of which on its own would be sufficient to condemn them to spend eternity in Hell. Then Allah says, denouncing them:

أَصْطَفَى الْبَنَاتِ عَلَى الْبَنِينَ

(Has He (then) chosen daughters rather than sons) meaning, what would make Him choose daughters rather than sons This is like the Ayah,

أَفَأَصْفَـكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِالْبَنِينَ وَاتَّخَذَ مِنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةِ إِنَاثًا إِنَّكُمْ لَتَقُولُونَ قَوْلاً عَظِيمًا

(Has then your Lord preferred for you sons, and taken for Himself from among the angels daughters Verily, you indeed utter an awful saying.) (17:40) Allah says:

مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ

(What is the matter with you How do you decide) meaning, `what kind of reasoning makes you say that'

أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ - أَمْ لَكُمْ سُلْطَـنٌ مُّبِينٌ

(Will you not then remember Or is there for you a plain authority) means, `evidence to prove what you say.'

فَأْتُواْ بِكِتَـبِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ

(Then bring your Book if you are truthful!) means, `produce evidence for that derived from a Book revealed from heaven by Allah, to prove that He has taken what you say (i.e., offspring). What you say is totally irrational.'

وَجَعَلُواْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجِنَّةِ نَسَباً

(And they have invented a kinship between Him and the Jinn,) Mujahid said, "The idolators said that the angels were the daughters of Allah. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, `Then who are their mothers' They said, `The daughters of the leaders of the Jinn."' Qatadah and Ibn Zayd also said this. Allah -- may He be blessed and exalted -- says:

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمَتِ الجِنَّةُ

(but the jinn know) meaning, those to whom this is attributed

إِنَّهُمْ لَمُحْضَرُونَ

(know well that they have indeed to appear (before Him).) means, that those who say that will be brought forth for punishment on the Day of Reckoning, because of the lies and falsehood that they uttered without knowledge.

سُبْحَـنَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

(Glorified be Allah! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him!) means, exalted, sanctified and glorified be He far above having any offspring and far above what the wrongdoers and heretics attribute to Him.

إِلاَّ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصِينَ

(Except the servants of Allah, whom He chooses.) The pronoun in the verb translated as "they attribute" refers to all of mankind, then He excludes those whom He chooses, who are the ones who follow the truth revealed to every Prophet who was sent.

فَإِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ - مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ بِفَـتِنِينَ - إِلاَّ مَنْ هُوَ صَالِ الْجَحِيمِ - وَمَا مِنَّآ إِلاَّ لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَّعْلُومٌ - وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّآفُّونَ - وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الْمُسَبِّحُونَ - وَإِن كَانُواْ لَيَقُولُونَ - لَوْ أَنَّ عِندَنَا ذِكْراً مِّنَ الاٌّوَّلِينَ

Or do you have a clear warrant? plain definitive proof that God has a child?

Commentary

Events relating to the noble prophets described earlier provided some good counsel and some lessons to learn. Now, once again, the text turns to the essential subject of the affirmation of pure monotheism (tauhid) and the refutation of ascribing partners to the pristine divinity of Allah (shirk). Then, described at this particular place is the shirk of a particular kind. The disbelievers of Arabia believed that angels were the daughters of Allah Ta’ ala, and the daughters of the chieftains of Jinns were the mothers of angels. According to ` Allamah Whidi, this belief was not restricted to the Quraish alone. It also prevailed among the tribes of Juhainah, Banu Salamah, Banu Khuza'ah and Banu Malih (Tafsir Kabir, p. 112, v. 7)

In verses beginning with: فَاستَفتِھِم (So ask them... -149) and ending at: إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (if you are truthful - 157), arguments have been given in support of the refutation of this belief of the disbelievers of Arabia. In gist, it has been said here: To begin with, this belief of yours is totally wrong in terms of your own recognized practice and customs, since you yourself regard daughters to be a source of shame. Now, what is a source of shame for you personally, how could this thing be proved to be good for Allah Ta’ ala? Then, you have declared angels to be daughters of Allah. What proof do you have for saying so? There could be three kinds of arguments to prove a claim: (1) Observation (2) Report, that is, the saying of an entity or person whose veracity is established and (3) Reason. As far as observation is concerned, it is obvious that you have just not seen Allah Ta’ ala creating angels that could have given you the knowledge of the gender of angels. Therefore, you have no proof from observation with you. When it was said: أَمْ خَلَقْنَا الْمَلَائِكَةَ إِنَاثًا وَهُمْ شَاهِدُونَ (Or, did We create the angels as females while they were witnessing? - 150), this is what it means. As for a reported proof, you do not have that too because one only goes by the word of people who are trustworthy and whose veracity is well established. Quite contrary to this, there are those who hold this kind of belief but they are liars. Nothing they say can be a binding argument. When it was said: أَلَا إِنَّهُم مِّنْ إِفْكِهِمْ لَيَقُولُونَ (Beware! They are the ones who, by way of a lie of theirs, [ have the audacity to ] say, Allah has children" - and they are absolute liars - 151, 152), this is what it means. As for the rational argument, even that does not go in your favor because, in your view, daughters have a lower status as compared to that of the sons. Now, think of the great Being of Allah that holds the superior most status in the entire universe - how can this superior most Being like to have something of a lower status? When it was said: أَصْطَفَى الْبَنَاتِ عَلَى الْبَنِينَ (Is it that Allah has chosen daughters (for Himself) instead of sons? - 153), this is what it means. Now, this leaves only one likelihood unexplored - may be, you have been blessed with some scripture from the heavens through the medium of revelation (wahy) in which you have been asked to believe as you do. So, if this be the case, come out and show us the proof - where is that revelation and where is that Book? When it was said: أَمْ لَكُمْ سُلْطَانٌ مُّبِينٌ فَأْتُوا بِكِتَابِكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (Or, is it that there is some open authority with you? Then bring your book if you are truthful - 156, 157) this is what it means.

An ilzami (الزامی) answer (based on adversary's assumption) is more appropriate for the obstinate

From these verses we learn that it is more appropriate to tackle people bent on obstinacy with an ilzami response. An ilzami response means that their claim should be refuted through the analogy of some other view of things they themselves have. In doing so, it is never necessary to concede that we too subscribe to this other view, in fact, there could be occasion when that other view is also incorrect. But, it is only to drive some sense into the obstinate adversary that it is put to use functionally. Here, to refute their belief, Allah Ta’ ala has used their own view that the existence of daughters is a cause of disgrace. It is obvious that it does not mean that it is so with Allah Ta’ ala as well, nor does it mean that, had they called angels 'sons of God' rather than 'daughters of God,' it would have been correct. In fact, this is an ilzami response, and its aim is to refute their belief by citing their own claims. Otherwise, the real response to beliefs of this nature is no other but that which finds mention in the noble Qur'an itself - that Allah Ta’ ala is independent and need-free and neither does He need any children, nor does it befit His Most Exalted State of Being.