Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:100

Al-An‘am: (100) And they have attributed to Allah partners...

Then, He—Glory be to Him—after mentioning these magnificent blessings that point to His Oneness, rebuked those who associated others with Him, and responded to them with His saying, Exalted is His majesty: "And they have attributed—in their belief—to Allah—whose state is what has been detailed throughout these verses—partners" in divinity or lordship, "the Jinn." That is, the angels, for they worshipped them and said: "They are the daughters of Allah." Naming them "Jinn" is a metaphor due to their being hidden and concealed from the eyes, just as the Jinn are. Expressing them in such terms is a belittlement of their status relative to the station of divinity.

This has been narrated from Qatadah and Al-Suddi, and it is understood from the words of some that "Jinn" includes the angels in reality. It is also said: The intended meaning is the devils; this is narrated from Al-Hasan. The meaning of their attributing partners is that they obeyed them just as Allah Almighty is obeyed, or they worshipped idols due to their temptation and incitement. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—that the verse was revealed regarding the Zindiqs (heretics) who said: "Allah Almighty is the creator of humans, beasts, cattle, and animals, while Iblis is the creator of predators, snakes, scorpions, and evils." Thus, the intended meaning of "the Jinn" is Iblis and his followers who commit evils and cast vile whispers into human souls. These are the Magians who believe in Light and Darkness, and they have positions on this matter that ears despise and souls shrink from.

The Imam claimed that this is the best of the interpretations mentioned regarding the verse. As for the objects of "attributed": it is said that "to Allah" and "partners" are the objects, and "the Jinn" is either in the accusative case due to a deleted element acting as an answer to a question—as if it were said: "Whom did they attribute as partners?" and it was answered: "The Jinn"—or it is in the accusative case as a substitute (badal) for "partners," and the original term (the one replaced) is not considered entirely nullified. The second object is placed first because it is the focus of the rejection, and because the first object is a rejected thing that deserves to be delayed. It is also said that both "partners" and "the Jinn" are the two objects, and the precedence of the latter over the former is to emphasize the gravity of attributing to Allah—Glory be to Him—any partner whatsoever, be it who it may. "To Allah" is linked to "partners," and its precedence over it is also for the aforementioned subtle reason, according to what Al-Zamakhshari chose.

It is also recited as "the Jinn" in the nominative case, as if asking "Who are they?" and answering "The Jinn." And it is recited in the genitive case by way of the genitive construction (idafa) which serves for clarification. "And He created them" is a circumstantial clause (hal) from the agent of "they attributed," whether with an implied "qad" (already) or without it, according to the two differing opinions; it serves to emphasize the atrocity and falsehood in what they attributed, considering their knowledge of its content—meaning: while they knew that Allah Almighty is specifically their Creator. It is said: The pronoun refers to the Jinn, meaning: "While He—Exalted is He—created the Jinn, so how can they attribute His own creature as a partner to Him?" The first view is favored for being free from the scattering of pronouns, while the Imam favored the second, arguing that the return of the pronoun to the nearest of the mentioned items is mandatory, and that if the pronoun refers to this nearest item, the single expression becomes a decisive, complete, and perfect proof in invalidating the false doctrine. Yahya bin Ya‘mar recited "wa khalqahum" (and their creation) in the form of a verbal noun, as a conjunction to "the Jinn," meaning: "And what they create of idols," or as a conjunction to "partners," meaning: "And they attributed to Him their involvement in abominations," as they attributed these to Him—Glory be to Him—and said: "Allah commanded us to do them."

"And they falsely attributed to Him" (wa kharaqu lahu), meaning they fabricated and lied for Him—Glory be to Him. Al-Farra’ said: It is said "khalaqa al-ifk" (he fabricated a lie), "ikhtalaqahu" (he invented it), and "kharaqahu" (he forged it) all carry the same meaning. It is narrated from Al-Hasan that when asked about this, he said: "It is an Arabic word the Arabs used to say; if a man told a lie in a gathering of people, some would say to him: 'You have forged it, by Allah.'" Al-Raghib said: "The root of kharq (tearing) is to cut something by way of corruption without reflection or deliberation." From this is His saying: "Have you torn it open to drown its people?" It is the opposite of khalq (creation), for that is doing something with planning and care, whereas kharq is without planning. He said: "And they falsely attributed (wa kharaqu) to Him," meaning they judged that on the basis of forgery and severance (from truth). Nafi‘ recited "wa kharraqu" with a shaddah on the ra for intensification. Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—recited "wa harafu" (and they distorted) from tahrif (distortion), meaning they falsified for Him "sons and daughters." The Jews said: "Uzayr is the son of Allah," the Christians said: "The Messiah is the son of Allah," and the Arabs said: "The angels are the daughters of Allah." Allah—Glory be to Him—is transcendent above what they say, "without knowledge" of its reality—whether it is correct or incorrect—without reflection or consideration. Rather, they said it out of blindness and ignorance, or without knowledge of the rank of what they were saying, and that it is of the utmost atrocity.

However it may be, the prepositional phrase is linked to a deleted element acting as a state (hal) for the "waw" or as an adjective to a confirmed verbal noun, meaning: "They fabricated while being in a state of ignorance," or "a fabrication existing without knowledge." The intent in both cases is to condemn them for their ignorance. It is said that this is a metonymy for denying what they said, for that which has no basis cannot be known, nor can proof be established for it; there is no need for it, as its negation is known from it being called a fabrication and a lie, and from His saying—Exalted is His majesty: "Exalted is He and high above what they describe."

(100) ...concerning that He—Exalted is His majesty—has a partner or a child. The discussion regarding "Subhan" (Glory be to Him) and the exaggeration in transcendence it conveys has already passed. "Ta‘ala" (High above is He) is a conjunction to the implied verb that governs the accusative case of "Subhan." The Imam distinguished between Tasbih (glorification) and Ta‘ali (exaltation), saying that the first refers to the words of the glorifiers, while the second refers to His Essential attributes—Exalted is He—which belong to His Essence and not to another. The intent of "sons" in the preceding text is what is beyond the singular, or that one who permits the singular permits the plural.