Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:149-157

86

Another theme starts from here. In the preceding theme that started from v. 11, the Quraish had been put this question: "Ask them: what is more difficult: their own creation or of those things that We have created?" Now, they are being asked this second question. The object of the first question was to warn the disbelievers of their deviation because of which they regarded life-after-death and the meting out of rewards and punishments as impossible, and therefore, mocked the Holy Prophet for it. Now they are being asked this second question to warn them of their ignorance due to which they attributed children to Allah and would join anybody with Allah in any relationship they liked on mere conjecture.

87

Traditions show that in Arabia the tribes of Quraish, Juhainah, Bani Salimah, Khuza'ah, Bani Mulaih, etc., held the belief that the angels were Allah's daughters. This belief of their ignorance has been referred to at several places in the Qur'an, e.g. in An-Nisa': 117, An-Nahl: 57-58, Bani Isra'il: 40, Az-Zukhruf: 16; 19, An-Najm: 21-27.

88

That is, "There can be only two bases for regarding the angels as the daughters of Allah: Either such a thing could be said on the basis of observation, or the one who asserted it should possess a Divine book in which Allah Himself might have stated that the angels were His daughters. Now, if those who held such belief could neither make a claim to have observed such a thing nor did they possess any divine book that might contain such a thing, there could be no greater stupidity than this that one should base one's religious belief on mere conjecture, and attribute to Allah, Lord of the worlds, such things as were patently ridiculous.