Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:43

The researchers have chosen the first interpretation, as it is the most manifest and appropriate to His—the Almighty—saying: “Exalted is He”; for it is evident that the intended meaning is to demonstrate that their claims entail a grave error from where they do not expect. As for seeking a way unto Him, the Exalted, through drawing near, it is not something specific to this interpretation, nor is it something that follows from their claims without their awareness; rather, it is a matter they believe in directly.

That is: He is transcendent in His Essence with a transcendence befitting Him, the Exalted. “And exalted is He”—far removed—“above what they say,”—that is, the grave [calumnies] which are that there should be gods with Him or that He should have daughters. “An elevation” (ʿuluwwan)—that is, a surpassing transcendence; it is a verbal noun derived from other than its own verb, like His saying: “And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth” (nabatan). “Great”—far-reaching in extent; nay, there is no extent beyond it. How could it be otherwise, when He, the Exalted, is at the furthest extreme of existence, which is Necessary Existence by Essence, while what they say—that there are gods with Him or that He has children—is at the lowest ranks of non-existence, which is Essential Impossibility.

It has also been said: Because He, the Exalted, is at the highest rank of existence, which is His being Necessary in existence and subsistence by His Essence, while the taking of a child is from its lowest ranks, for it is a characteristic of that which is incapable of subsistence.

This has been critiqued by stating that what they say is not merely the taking of a child, but includes what you have heard [of their other claims]. There is no doubt that this does not fall within the limit of possibility, let alone under the category of existence. Its being classified as "the lowest rank of existence" is only relative to those for whom such a state is possible. It was excused [by proponents] by stating that it is a case of drawing attention to the state of the highest by way of the lowest. It is not hidden that the mention of "Elevation" (ʿuluww) following the title of "Possessor of the Throne" is at the highest levels of eloquence.