Surah Al-Isra — Verse 40

Word Meanings:

• أَفَأَصْفَاكُمْ (Afasfākum): Did He single you out exclusively and give you preference with...
• بِالْبَنِينَ (bil-banīn): male children and sons.
• وَاتَّخَذَ (wa-ttakhadha): and He took/claimed for Himself...
• إِنَاثًا (ināthan): daughters (i.e., female offspring).
• قَوْلًا عَظِيمًا (qawlan ʿaẓīman): a tremendous, monstrous statement.

Explanation of the Verse:

O you who associate partners with Allah, you claimed that the angels are Allah's daughters, and you preferred sons for yourselves. So Allah rebukes you with a question that exposes the absurdity of your claim: "Has your Lord honoured you exclusively with sons, while He Himself—exalted be He above what you say—took for Himself daughters from among the angels?"

Think about the sheer contradiction in your belief: you consider daughters to be a source of shame and dishonour for yourselves—so much so that when one of you is given news of a baby girl, his face darkens and he suppresses his anger—yet you dare to attribute daughters to the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Creator of all that exists! You assign to Him what you yourselves despise, and you claim that He chose for Himself the inferior of the two kinds while giving you the superior.

This is why Allah declares: "Indeed, you are uttering a monstrous statement." It is a saying so grave, so ugly, and so false that the heavens are about to split, the earth to crack, and the mountains to fall down because of it. You are not merely making a casual error—you are attributing to Allah a child, and specifically daughters, out of deep-rooted arrogance and disbelief. You elevated yourselves above Him in your own minds, preferring yourselves over your Creator, and this is the height of injustice and ignorance.

A Call to Reflection and Faith:

Dear reader, pause and reflect on the majesty of Allah. How could the One who created every atom, every star, and every soul need a child or a partner? He is Al-Ahad, the Absolutely One, self-sufficient, and free of all needs. He is far above having a son or a daughter, for all of creation belongs to Him and is in total submission to His will.

The angels themselves are honoured servants of Allah—they do not speak before He speaks, and they act only by His command. They are not His daughters, nor His sons; they are created beings, pure and obedient, whom He created as He willed. So how can you, a weak human being, assign to Allah what you would never accept for yourself?

Let this verse be a turning point in your heart. Purify your belief from every false notion, and submit wholeheartedly to the truth: "Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent." (Al-Ikhlās 112:1-4). This is the pure, untainted faith that brings peace to the soul and salvation in the Hereafter. Embrace it, and you will find a Lord who is Most Merciful, Most Forgiving, and who loves those who turn to Him in sincerity.