Al-Muminoon 23:91
The Believers · ayah 91 of 118
Ma ittakhatha Allahumin waladin wama kana maAAahu min ilahin ithanlathahaba kullu ilahin bima khalaqa walaAAalabaAAduhum AAala baAAdin subhana AllahiAAamma yasifoon
Saheeh International translation
Other English translations
Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+
"God has never had a child. Nor is there any god beside Him- if there were, each god would have taken his creation aside and tried to overcome the others. May God be exalted above what they describe!"
Pickthall (classic)+
"Allah hath not chosen any son, nor is there any god along with Him; else would each god have assuredly championed that which he created, and some of them would assuredly have overcome others. Glorified be Allah above all that they allege."
Yusuf Ali (classic)+
"No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with Him: (if there were many gods), behold, each god would have taken away what he had created, and some would have lorded it over others! Glory to Allah! (He is free) from the (sort of) things they attribute to Him!"
Tafsīr · classical commentary
Ibn Kathir
Abridged English, public domain
+
Ibn Kathir
Abridged English, public domain
Allah has no Partner or Associate
Allah declares Himself to be above having any child or partner in dominion, control and worship. He says:
(No son did Allah beget, nor is there any god along with Him. (If there had been many gods), then each god would have taken away what he had created, and some would have tried to overcome others.) meaning, if it were decreed that there should be a plurality of deities, each of them would have exclusive control over whatever he had created, so there would never be any order in the universe. But what we see is that the universe is ordered and cohesive, with the upper and lower realms connected to one another in the most perfect fashion.
(you can see no fault in the creation of the Most Gracious) 65:3. Moreover, if there were a number of gods, each of them would try to subdue the other with enmity, and one would prevail over the other. This has been mentioned by the scholars of `Ilm-ul-Kalam, who discussed it using the evidence of mutual resistance or counteraction. This idea states that if there were two or more creators, one would want to make a body move while the other would want to keep it immobile, and if neither of them could achieve what they wanted, then both would be incapable, but the One Whose existence is essential i.e., Allah cannot be incapable. It is impossible for the will of both to be fulfilled because of the conflict. This dilemma only arises when a plurality of gods is suggested, so it is impossible for there to be such a plurality, because if the will of one is fulfilled and not the other, the one who prevails will be the one whose existence is essential (i.e., God) and the one who is prevailed over will be merely possible (i.e., he is not divine), because it is not befitting for the one to be defeated whose existence is essential. Allah says:
(and some would have tried to overcome others! Glorified be Allah above all that they attribute to Him!) meaning, high above all that the stubborn wrongdoers say when they claim that He has a son or partner.
(All-Knower of the unseen and the seen!) means, He knows what is hidden from His creatures and what they see.
(Exalted be He over all that they associate as partners to Him!) means, sanctified and glorified and exalted be He above all that the wrongdoers and liars say.