Tafsir of Yunus 10:68

(They have said, "Allah has taken a son")—this is the commencement of mentioning another type of the polytheists' falsehoods and a clarification of their invalidity. It is said that the intent behind "these polytheists" are the disbelievers of Quraysh and the Arabs, for they said, "The angels are the daughters of Allah the Exalted," as well as the Jews and Christians who said, "Uzair and Isa, peace be upon them, are the sons of the Mighty and Majestic." The term ittikhadh (taking) is explicit regarding adoption. The apparent meaning of the verse indicates that this is the statement of all polytheists; if it is established that among them are those who claim literal birth and procreation, then what is mentioned here is the statement of some of them. It should be examined whether the attribution of a part to the whole—due to the fulfillment of its conditions—applies here, or if it does not apply due to the absence of those conditions. The word walad (child/son) is used in both the singular and the plural.

In the al-Qamus: al-walad (with the movement of the waw and lam), and with the damma, kasra, and fatha, it refers to both singular and plural. It is sometimes pluralized as awlad, wilada, and ilada (with a kasra in the latter two), and wuld (with a damma). It encompasses both the male and the female.

(Exalted is He)—this is a declaration of transcendence and sanctification for the Exalted from what they have attributed to Him, as is the foundation of the meaning of Subhan. It is sometimes used metaphorically for astonishment, and it is valid to intend that meaning here; the intent being astonishment at their foolish words. Some have combined both transcendence and astonishment, which may be based on the idea that astonishment is a metonymic meaning, and that it is valid to intend the literal meaning within the metonymy—this being one of two opinions on the matter. It is also said that the meaning of astonishment is not necessarily derived from the usage of the term itself, but is rather among the secondary meanings.

His saying, Exalted is He: (He is the Free of need)—meaning, from everything in every respect—is a justification for His transcendence and sanctification from that [claim], and an indication that the taking of a child is caused by a need, such as the need for support or the preservation of one’s lineage. His saying, Exalted is He: (To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth)—meaning of the rational beings and others—is a confirmation of the meaning of "Free of need," because the One who owns all existence is the Free of need, while everything else is poor. It is also said that this is another justification for the transcendence from adoption, because it contradicts [His] absolute ownership.

His saying, Majestic is His manifestation: (Do you have any authority)—meaning, any proof—(for this)—meaning, for the aforementioned false statement—is a clarification of its invalidity by establishing the soundness of the bright proof presented, free from any opponent or contradiction. The ma is negative, and the min is an augmentative particle for the purpose of emphasizing the negation. Its genitive noun is the subject (mubtada), and the preceding prepositional phrase is its predicate, or it is in the nominative case as the actor (fa'il) because it relies on the negation. Bi-hadha (for this) is connected either to sultan—because it has the meaning of "proof," as you have heard—or to an omitted element functioning as an adjective for it. It is also said that it is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the hidden pronoun within the prepositional phrase referring back to it, or it is connected to the sense of "stability" inherent in indakum (with you). According to this, it is necessary for sultan to be the actor for the prepositional phrase so that no separation occurs between the conceptual operative and its object through an extraneous element.

The shift to the second-person address is for the sake of intensified insistence and silencing, and to emphasize what is in His saying, Exalted is He: (Do you say about Allah that which you do not know? 68)—in terms of reprimand and rebuke for their ignorance and fabrication. In the verse is proof that every statement for which there is no evidence is ignorance, that beliefs must be based on a decisive proof, and that blind imitation (taqlid) is far removed from guidance. It is not suitable as a basis for rejecting analogy (qiyas) or acting upon solitary reports (khabar al-ahad), for those [rules] concern the branches (furu'), whereas [beliefs] are specific to the fundamentals (usul)—due to the existence of proofs that specify them, even if their outward expression is general.