Surah An-Nahl — Verse 57

Key Words and Meanings:

• وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ الْبَنَاتِ – "And they assign to Allah daughters": They attribute daughters to Allah, claiming that the angels are His daughters.
• سُبْحَانَهُ – "Glory be to Him": An expression of Allah's absolute perfection and transcendence above any imperfection, including having children.
• وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ – "And for themselves they desire what they wish": They choose for themselves what they love—sons—while attributing to Allah what they themselves despise.

Explanation of the Verse:

This verse exposes the profound contradiction and injustice in the mindset of the disbelievers. They claimed that the angels were Allah's daughters, attributing to Him a female offspring—something they themselves considered inferior and undesirable. Yet, at the same time, they wished for and celebrated the birth of sons for themselves. What a striking contrast! They assigned to their Lord what they would never accept for their own families, and they kept for themselves what they cherished most.

Glory be to Allah, the Most High, who is far above and completely free from any such false attributions. He is the Creator of all things, and He neither begets nor is He begotten, nor is there any equivalent to Him. The very idea of Him having a child—whether male or female—is a grave slander and a profound ignorance of His divine nature.

This verse serves as a powerful reminder of the purity of Islamic monotheism. It calls us to reflect on the absolute perfection of Allah and to purify our hearts and tongues from any notion that diminishes His majesty. How can anyone attribute to Allah what they themselves despise? This is not merely an error in belief; it is a deep-seated corruption of the soul that stems from arrogance and heedlessness.

A Da'wah Reflection:

Dear reader, ponder this verse deeply. It teaches us that true faith requires us to love for Allah only what is befitting of His majesty, and to submit our own desires to His will. The disbelievers of old chose for themselves what pleased them and gave to Allah what they rejected—what an injustice! As Muslims, we are called to a higher standard: to prefer what Allah loves over what our souls crave, and to honour Him with the purest of beliefs.

This verse also highlights the mercy of Allah in sending the Qur'an to correct such misconceptions. Through the Qur'an, we learn who our Lord truly is—the Most Merciful, the Most Just, the All-Powerful—and we are guided to worship Him with clarity and certainty. Let this be an invitation for you to draw closer to the Qur'an, to study it with an open heart, and to let its light illuminate your path. For in it lies the ultimate truth that frees the soul from falsehood and leads it to eternal success.