Meccan · Surah 21 of 114

Al-Anbiyaa 21:26

The Prophets · ayah 26 of 112

وَقَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ وَلَدًۭا ۗ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ ۚ بَلْ عِبَادٌۭ مُّكْرَمُونَ

Waqaloo ittakhatha arrahmanuwaladan subhanahu bal AAibadun mukramoon

"And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants."

Saheeh International translation

Recitation by Mishary Alafasy

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Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"And they say, ‘The Lord of Mercy has taken offspring for Himself.’ May He be exalted! No! They are only His honoured servants:"

Pickthall (classic)+

"And they say: The Beneficent hath taken unto Himself a son. Be He Glorified! Nay, but (those whom they call sons) are honoured slaves;"

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"And they say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten offspring." Glory to Him! they are (but) servants raised to honour."

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

The Refutation of Those Who claim that the Angels are the Daughters of Allah; description of their Deeds and Status

Here Allah refutes those who claim that He has offspring among the angels -- exalted and sanctified be He. Some of the Arabs believed that the angels were the daughters of Allah, but Allah says:

سُبْحَانَهُ بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُّكْرَمُونَ

(Glory to Him! They are but honored servants.) meaning, the angels are servants of Allah who are honored by Him and who hold high positions of noble status. They obey Him to the utmost in all their words and deeds.

لاَ يَسْبِقُونَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ وَهُمْ بِأَمْرِهِ يَعْمَلُونَ

(They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His command.) meaning, they do not initiate any matter before Him or go against His commands; on the contrary, they hasten to do as He commands, and He encompasses them with His knowledge so that nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him.

يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ

(He knows what is before them, and what is behind them,)

وَلاَ يَشْفَعُونَ إِلاَّ لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى

(and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased.) This is like the Ayat:

مَن ذَا الَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ

(Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission) 2:255

وَلاَ تَنفَعُ الشَّفَـعَةُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ

(Intercession with Him profits not except for him whom He permits) 34:23. There are many Ayat which say similar things.

وَهُمْ مِّنْ خَشْيَتِهِ

(And they for fear of Him) means, because they fear Him.

مُشْفِقُونَوَمَن يَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّى إِلَـهٌ مِّن دُونِهِ

(And they stand in awe. And if any of them should say: "Verily, I am a god besides Him,") meaning, whoever claims to be a god instead of Allah, i.e., alongside Allah,

فَذلِكَ نَجْزِيهِ جَهَنَّمَ كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِى الظَّـلِمِينَ

(such We should recompense with Hell. Thus We recompense the wrongdoers.) meaning, everyone who says this. This is a conditional sentence, and the condition stated does not necessarily have to take place. This is like the Ayat:

قُلْ إِن كَانَ لِلرَّحْمَـنِ وَلَدٌ فَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْعَـبِدِينَ

(Say: "If the Most Gracious had a son, then I am the first of worshippers.") 43:81

لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَـسِرِينَ

(If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely, (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers.) 39:65

Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

Всевышний поведал о безрассудстве многобожников, которые отказываются уверовать в Божьего посланника, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует. Да осрамит их Аллах! Они полагают, что у Бога есть Сын. А другие говорят, что ангелы являются дочерьми Аллаха. Свят Аллах и бесконечно далек от этих измышлений! Что же касается ангелов, то они являются рабами, которые находятся во власти своего Господа. Он оказал им особое почтение и осенил их своей особой милостью. Он наделил их превосходными качествами и избавил от пороков и недостатков. Они же соблюдают совершенное благонравие при общении с Аллахом и неукоснительно выполняют Его повеления.

Maʿārif al-Qur'ān

Mufti Shafi Usmani, English

هَـٰذَا ذِكْرُ‌ مَن مَّعِيَ وَذِكْرُ‌ مَن قَبْلِي (Here is the Message for those with me and the Message for those before me. - 21: 24) One explanation of this verse on which the translation is based is that ذِکر means Message and "Message for those with me" refers to Qur'an, while "the Message for those before me" refers to Torah, Injil (Evangel) and Zabur (Psalms), the earlier divine books. According to this interpretation, the meaning of the verse is that neither the Qur'an (which is the Book for the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his followers) nor the older books contain anything to suggest worship of anyone else but Allah. Despite the fact that the texts of Torah and Injil (Evangel) have been altered, it is not suggested in either of them that Allah has partners with whom he shares His authority. Another explanation of the verse is given in Al-Bahr ul-Muhit according to which the word (dhikr) means here "description", and the sense is that this Qur'an is a description for the people who were in the days of the Holy Prophet ﷺ which describes for them the rules of Shari'ah and invites them to the correct way of life. At the same time it is a description of those who were before the Holy Prophet ﷺ because it keeps alive the stories and the traditions of people long gone by.

Tafsīr sourced from quran.com's open API. These are classical commentaries; for personal rulings consult a qualified scholar.

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