Tafsir of An-Najm 53:21

This is a rebuke whose foundation and pivot is the preference of their own selves over His side—Exalted is He—in that they assigned the females to Him—Exalted is He—and chose the males for themselves. The basis of the former interpretation is that very attribution.

It is said: The meaning is, "Have you seen" these idols, with their insignificance and abasement, as partners to Allah—Glorified is He—alongside what has preceded regarding His greatness?

It is also said: The meaning is, "Inform me about your deities, do they possess any of the power and greatness with which the Lord of Might was described in the preceding verse?"

It is also said: The meaning is, "Did you think that these idols you worship benefit you?"

And it is said: The meaning is, "Have you seen" these idols, for if you worship them they do not benefit you, and if you abandon them they do not harm you. It is not hidden that the saying of the Exalted, "For you..." and so on, does not cohere with what precedes it under all of these interpretations as it does under the aforementioned interpretation.

It is also said that the saying of the Glorified, "For you..." and so on, is in the place of the second object of the verb "to see" (ar-ru'ya), and it is devoid of a referent (pronoun) returning to the first object because the original meaning is, "Inform me that al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat—for you is the male and for Him is the female," meaning those idols. The term "female" was placed in its stead to observe the rhythm of the verse-endings and to realize the basis of the rebuke. Despite its artificiality, this requires that the rebuke be limited to the preference of their own base, lowly side over the side of Allah—the Almighty, the Majestic—without addressing the rebuke of attributing offspring to Him—Exalted is He.

In al-Kashf, it is stated regarding the manner of this sublime arrangement: When He depicted the matter of the revelation completely and verified it, stating that what he hears is revelation without any doubt—because he saw the signs through it and knew Him with true knowledge—the Glorified said: {أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَىٰ مَا يَرَىٰ} [Do you then dispute with him over what he sees?] meaning, will you contend with him after these clear proofs over what is seen of the verified signs, for he is upon a clear evidence from his Lord—Guided and guiding? How could there remain any room for dispute when he has seen Him at another descent, and known Him with true knowledge? Then it was said: {لَقَدْ رَأَىٰ مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَىٰ} [He certainly saw of the greatest signs of his Lord], alerting that what was counted of them is also a negation of misguidance and deviation, and a verification of discernment and guidance.

The saying of the Exalted, {أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ} [Have you then seen], is conjoined to {تُمَارُونَهُ} [dispute with him]. The insertion of the hamza is for increased denial, and the fa (then/so) is because speaking such words is caused by one's nature, stubbornness, and lack of responsiveness to the call of truth. The meaning is: After this clear proof, do you persist in what you are upon of disputation, so that you see al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat as offspring of Allah—Exalted is He—and the most wretched of them at that? The phrase {لَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ} [For you is the male] occupies the place of the second object as an additional denial. Thus, upon this reading, {أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ} is not in the sense of an inquiry, though it is permissible for it to be in that sense, meaning: "Do you dispute with him? Then inform me, is for you the male and for Him the female?" The verb "to say" is implied, i.e., "So say to them: Inform me." The meaning is thus, by way of sarcasm and alerting that this is the result of their positions, and that whoever holds this belief is in a state of misguidance beyond which there is no further misguidance. It is not far-fetched for those like them to attribute to the Guided and Guiding the deficiency that they themselves are in.

And what he mentioned first is more appropriate, and it is not far from what we have mentioned.