Surah At-Tur — Verse 39

Word Meanings:

• أَمْ (Am): Here it means "Or" in the sense of a rhetorical question that rebukes and refutes, not a genuine choice.
• الْبَنَاتُ (Al-Banāt): Daughters.
• الْبَنُونَ (Al-Banūn): Sons.

Explanation of the Verse:

This verse is a powerful rhetorical rebuke directed at the polytheists of Makkah, who claimed that the angels were the daughters of Allah while they themselves preferred sons over daughters. They considered daughters a source of shame and disgrace, yet they attributed them to their Lord, the Most High — a contradiction that exposes the utter folly of their beliefs.

Allah, the Exalted, challenges them with a question that leaves them with no answer: *"Is it that He has daughters while you have sons?"* This is not a genuine inquiry but a stinging refutation. It highlights the absurdity of their claim: they assign to Allah what they themselves despise, while reserving for themselves what they love and value. If they truly believed in their own logic, they would never attribute such a thing to their Creator.

The verse strips away their falsehood and exposes the corruption of their thinking. It is a call to reflect: How can the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise, be attributed with something that His own creatures find inferior and undesirable? Such a claim is not only baseless but also deeply offensive to the majesty of Allah.

This verse also carries a timeless lesson for humanity. It reminds us to purify our beliefs about Allah from any imperfection and to approach Him with the reverence He deserves. It teaches us that we must not project our own flawed preferences or societal biases onto our understanding of the Divine. Allah is far above anything we can imagine, and His perfection is beyond all comparison.

For the believer, this verse is a call to humility and gratitude. It reminds us that Allah, in His infinite wisdom, grants sons and daughters as He wills, and both are blessings from Him. No child is a disgrace, and no gender is superior to another in His sight. What matters is righteousness and faith.

Let this verse inspire you to reflect on the greatness of Allah and to guard your heart against any thought or belief that diminishes His majesty. Indeed, the One who created all things, who gives life and death, and who controls the destinies of all creation — He alone is worthy of worship, and He is far above the false claims of those who ascribe to Him what they themselves despise.