Surah Zukhruf ayat 17 Tafsir Quran 43:17

﴿وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ مَثَلًا ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ﴾
[ الزخرف: 17]

43:17 And when one of them is given good tidings of that which he attributes to the Most Merciful in comparison, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief.

And when one of them is given the good tidings of that which he has attributed to the Compassionate One of that which he has likened to Him by the ascription to Him of daughters — for a child is likened to its parent; in other words when one of them is informed that a daughter has been born to him his face becomes darkened transformed into one laden with anguish and he chokes inwardly filled with anguish so how can such a person then attribute daughters to Him? Exalted be He high above such claims.

Yet ironically, the moment that any of them hears the news of the birth of his female child, the sex which he ascribes to Allah AL-Rahman, his countenance at once speaks a different language; his eyes shrivel into darkness in his head and he falls into the darkness of deepest dismay

Condemnation of the Idolators' attribution of Offspring to Allah Here Allah speaks of the lies and fabrications of the idolators, when they devoted some of their cattle to their false gods and some to Allah, as He described in Surat Al-An`am where He said: وَجَعَلُواْ لِلَّهِ مِمَّا ذَرَأَ مِنَ الْحَرْثِ وَالاٌّنْعَامِ نَصِيباً فَقَالُواْ هَـذَا لِلَّهِ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَهَـذَا لِشُرَكَآئِنَا فَمَا كَانَ لِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ فَلاَ يَصِلُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ فَهُوَ يَصِلُ إِلَى شُرَكَآئِهِمْ سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ ( And they assign to Allah share of the tilth and cattle which He has created, and they say: "This is for Allah" according to their claim, "and this is for our partners." But the share of their partners reaches not Allah, while the share of Allah reaches their partners! Evil is the way they judge! ) ( 6:136 ).
Similarly, out of the two kinds of offspring, sons and daughters, they assigned to Him the worst and least valuable ( in their eyes ), i.e., daughters, as Allah says: 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 ) And Allah says here: وَجَعَلُواْ لَهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ جُزْءًا إِنَّ الإنسَـنَ لَكَفُورٌ مُّبِينٌ ( Yet, they assign to some of His servants a share with Him.
Verily, man is indeed a manifest ingrate! ) Then He says: أَمِ اتَّخَذَ مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ بَنَاتٍ وَأَصْفَـكُم بِالْبَنِينَ ( Or has He taken daughters out of what He has created, and He has selected for you sons ) This is a denunciation of them in the strongest terms, as He goes on to say: وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ مَثَلاً ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدّاً وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ ( And if one of them is informed of the news of that which he sets forth as a parable to the Most Gracious, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with grief! ) means, if one of these people is given the news that there has been born to him one of those which he attributes to Allah, i.e., a daughter, he hates this news and it depresses and overwhelms him so much that he keeps away from people because he feels so ashamed.
Allah says, so how can they dislike that so much and yet they attribute it to Allah أَوَمَن يُنَشَّأُ فِى الْحِلْيَةِ وَهُوَ فِى الْخِصَامِ غَيْرُ مُبِينٍ ( A creature who is brought up in adornments, and who in dispute cannot make itself clear ) means, women are regarded as lacking something, which they make up for with jewelry and adornments from the time of childhood onwards, and when there is a dispute, they cannot speak up and defend themselves clearly, so how can this be attributed to Allah وَجَعَلُواْ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـنِ إِنَـثاً ( And they make females the angels who themselves are servants of the Most Gracious. ) means, that is what they believe about them, but Allah denounces them for that and says: أَشَهِدُواْ خَلْقَهُمْ ( Did they witness their creation ) meaning, did they see Allah creating them as females سَتُكْتَبُ شَهَـدَتُهُمْ ( Their testimony will be recorded, ) means, concerning that, وَيُسْـَلُونَ ( and they will be questioned! ) means, about that, on the Day of Resurrection.
This is a stern warning and a serious threat. وَقَالُواْ لَوْ شَآءَ الرَّحْمَـنُ مَا عَبَدْنَـهُمْ ( And they said: "If it had been the will of the Most Gracious, we should not have worshipped them." ) means, ( they said: ) `if Allah had willed, He would have prevented us from worshipping these idols which are images of the angels who are the daughters of Allah; He knows about this and He approves of it.' By saying this, they combined several types of error: First: They attributed offspring to Allah -- exalted and sanctified be He far above that.
Second: They claimed that He chose daughters rather than sons, and they made the angels, who are the servants of the Most Gracious, female.
Third: They worshipped them with no proof, evidence or permission from Allah.
This was based on mere opinion, whims and desires, imitation of their elders and forefathers, and pure ignorance.
They used Allah's decree as an excuse, and this reasoning betrayed their ignorance.
Fourth: Allah denounced them for this in the strongest terms, for from the time He first sent Messengers and revealed Books, the command was to worship Him Alone with no partner or associate, and it was forbidden to worship anything other than Him.
Allah says: وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَـلَةُ فَسِيرُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ فَانظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ ( And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming ): "Worship Allah, and avoid all false deities." Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified.
So travel through the land and see what was the end of those who denied.) ( 16:36 ) وَاسْئلْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَآ أَجَعَلْنَا مِن دُونِ الرَّحْمَـنِ ءَالِهَةً يُعْبَدُونَ ( And ask those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: "Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Most Gracious" ) ( 43:45 ) And Allah says in this Ayah, after mentioning this argument of theirs: مَّا لَهُم بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ( They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. ) meaning, of the truth of what they say and the arguments they put forward. وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَخْرُصُونَ ( They do nothing but lie! ) means, they tell lies and fabricate untruths. مَّا لَهُم بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَخْرُصُونَ ( They have no knowledge whatsoever of that.
They do nothing but lie! ) Mujahid said, "They do not appreciate the power of Allah."

(43:17) (They believe so although when) any of them is given tidings of the birth of a female child the like of which he assigns to the Merciful One, his countenance darkens and he is choked with grief.

And when one of them is given meaning

*16) Here, the folly of the polytheists of Arabia has been fully exposed.
They said that the angels were the daughters of Allah.
They had carved out their images as females, and these were their goddesses whom they worshipped.
About this Allah says: In the first place, in spite of knowing and recognizing that the Creator of the earth and heavens is Allah and it is He Who has made this earth a cradle for you and it is He Who sends down the rain from the sky.
and it is He Who has created these animals for your service, yet you have taken others as gods beside Him, whereas those whom you serve as deities are not God but creatures of God.
Then, further more, you have made some of the servants associates of Allah not only in His attributes but in His Being as well, and invented the creed that they were Allah's offspring.
Then, not resting content with this, you assigned to Allah that kind of the offspring which you regard as disgraceful for your own selves: When a daughter is born in your house, your face grows dark, you feel distressed, and sometimes you bury her alive.
This offspring you assign to Allah and reserve for yourselves the sons, whom you regard as a source of joy and pride.
Even then you claim that you believe in Allah.

 

Condemnation of the Idolators' attribution of Offspring to Allah Here Allah speaks of the lies and fabrications of the idolators, when they devoted some of their cattle to their false gods and some to Allah, as He described in Surat Al-An`am where He said: وَجَعَلُواْ لِلَّهِ مِمَّا ذَرَأَ مِنَ الْحَرْثِ وَالاٌّنْعَامِ نَصِيباً فَقَالُواْ هَـذَا لِلَّهِ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَهَـذَا لِشُرَكَآئِنَا فَمَا كَانَ لِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ فَلاَ يَصِلُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ فَهُوَ يَصِلُ إِلَى شُرَكَآئِهِمْ سَآءَ مَا يَحْكُمُونَ ( And they assign to Allah share of the tilth and cattle which He has created, and they say: "This is for Allah" according to their claim, "and this is for our partners." But the share of their partners reaches not Allah, while the share of Allah reaches their partners! Evil is the way they judge! ) ( 6:136 ).
Similarly, out of the two kinds of offspring, sons and daughters, they assigned to Him the worst and least valuable ( in their eyes ), i.e., daughters, as Allah says: 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 ) And Allah says here: وَجَعَلُواْ لَهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ جُزْءًا إِنَّ الإنسَـنَ لَكَفُورٌ مُّبِينٌ ( Yet, they assign to some of His servants a share with Him.
Verily, man is indeed a manifest ingrate! ) Then He says: أَمِ اتَّخَذَ مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ بَنَاتٍ وَأَصْفَـكُم بِالْبَنِينَ ( Or has He taken daughters out of what He has created, and He has selected for you sons ) This is a denunciation of them in the strongest terms, as He goes on to say: وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ مَثَلاً ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُ مُسْوَدّاً وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ ( And if one of them is informed of the news of that which he sets forth as a parable to the Most Gracious, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with grief! ) means, if one of these people is given the news that there has been born to him one of those which he attributes to Allah, i.e., a daughter, he hates this news and it depresses and overwhelms him so much that he keeps away from people because he feels so ashamed.
Allah says, so how can they dislike that so much and yet they attribute it to Allah أَوَمَن يُنَشَّأُ فِى الْحِلْيَةِ وَهُوَ فِى الْخِصَامِ غَيْرُ مُبِينٍ ( A creature who is brought up in adornments, and who in dispute cannot make itself clear ) means, women are regarded as lacking something, which they make up for with jewelry and adornments from the time of childhood onwards, and when there is a dispute, they cannot speak up and defend themselves clearly, so how can this be attributed to Allah وَجَعَلُواْ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـنِ إِنَـثاً ( And they make females the angels who themselves are servants of the Most Gracious. ) means, that is what they believe about them, but Allah denounces them for that and says: أَشَهِدُواْ خَلْقَهُمْ ( Did they witness their creation ) meaning, did they see Allah creating them as females سَتُكْتَبُ شَهَـدَتُهُمْ ( Their testimony will be recorded, ) means, concerning that, وَيُسْـَلُونَ ( and they will be questioned! ) means, about that, on the Day of Resurrection.
This is a stern warning and a serious threat. وَقَالُواْ لَوْ شَآءَ الرَّحْمَـنُ مَا عَبَدْنَـهُمْ ( And they said: "If it had been the will of the Most Gracious, we should not have worshipped them." ) means, ( they said: ) `if Allah had willed, He would have prevented us from worshipping these idols which are images of the angels who are the daughters of Allah; He knows about this and He approves of it.' By saying this, they combined several types of error: First: They attributed offspring to Allah -- exalted and sanctified be He far above that.
Second: They claimed that He chose daughters rather than sons, and they made the angels, who are the servants of the Most Gracious, female.
Third: They worshipped them with no proof, evidence or permission from Allah.
This was based on mere opinion, whims and desires, imitation of their elders and forefathers, and pure ignorance.
They used Allah's decree as an excuse, and this reasoning betrayed their ignorance.
Fourth: Allah denounced them for this in the strongest terms, for from the time He first sent Messengers and revealed Books, the command was to worship Him Alone with no partner or associate, and it was forbidden to worship anything other than Him.
Allah says: وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَـلَةُ فَسِيرُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ فَانظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ ( And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming ): "Worship Allah, and avoid all false deities." Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified.
So travel through the land and see what was the end of those who denied.) ( 16:36 ) وَاسْئلْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَآ أَجَعَلْنَا مِن دُونِ الرَّحْمَـنِ ءَالِهَةً يُعْبَدُونَ ( And ask those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: "Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Most Gracious" ) ( 43:45 ) And Allah says in this Ayah, after mentioning this argument of theirs: مَّا لَهُم بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ ( They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. ) meaning, of the truth of what they say and the arguments they put forward. وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَخْرُصُونَ ( They do nothing but lie! ) means, they tell lies and fabricate untruths. مَّا لَهُم بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَخْرُصُونَ ( They have no knowledge whatsoever of that.
They do nothing but lie! ) Mujahid said, "They do not appreciate the power of Allah."

And if one of them) one of the Banu Malih ( hath tidings of that which he likeneth ) of that which he ascribes ( to the Beneficent One ) i.e. daughters, ( his countenance becometh black ) of grief ( and he is full of inward rage ) would you then, O Banu Malih, like for Allah that which you do not like for yourselves?

And if one of them is informed of the news of (the birth of) that which he set forth as a parable to the Most Beneficent (Allah) (i.e. of a girl), his face becomes dark, gloomy, and he is filled with grief!

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