Tafsir of At-Tur 52:39

Surah At-Tur (The Mount): Verse 39

أَمْ لَهُ الْبَنَاتُ وَلَكُمُ الذُّكُورُ

(Or does He have daughters, while you have sons?)

This verse points to the negation of Shirk (polytheism) and the falsehood of their claims through another line of reasoning:

1. The Need for a Partner: A partner is only needed due to inability or weakness. Allah is All-Powerful, so He has no need for a partner.
2. The Claim of Daughters: They claimed they did not make idols as partners, but rather revered them as "daughters of Allah." Allah responds by questioning this: How do you assign daughters to Allah?
3. The Purpose of Progeny (Birth): The creation of sons and daughters (progeny) is necessitated by the possibility of annihilation (Fana') for a mortal being. If procreation did not exist, the lineage would cease, and the original being would disappear without a successor.
4. Allah's Transcendence: Allah ordained procreation because of the potential for the father's demise. This is why there is no procreation in Paradise; it is the abode of permanence (Baqā'), where there is no death for the fathers, thus negating the need for children to maintain the population.
5. Contrast with Allah: Allah stated in the beginning of Surah Al 'Imran: {The Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting} (Al 'Imran: 2). This means He is Hayy (Living) and does not die, so He has no need for a child to inherit from Him. He is Qayyum (Self-Subsisting), meaning He does not change or weaken, so He does not need a successor to maintain His affairs. (This was revealed concerning the Christians of Najran).
6. The Utter Contradiction: Allah further clarifies this absurdity by pointing out their hypocrisy: They assign daughters to Allah, yet they reserve sons for themselves. Assigning daughters to themselves would be more logical for them, as numerous females facilitate greater multiplication of offspring (since one male can impregnate many females). In contrast, numerous males cannot impregnate one female to produce many offspring.
7. The Analogy of Preservation: Consider livestock: females are rarely slaughtered because preserving the species (for multiplication) depends on them. Thus, Allah states: "I am the Self-Subsisting (Qayyum) who has no annihilation, and I have no need for the continuation of the species through the creation of new individuals. You, however, are subject to imminent death, and the world's continuation relies more on females. Yet, you disown them (daughters) and assign them to Allah, while Allah is completely independent of all that."
8. Two Forms of Negating Partnership: The preceding verses negated Shirk based on Allah's initiation (creation), while this verse negates it based on His permanence (lack of need for succession).
9. Addressing the Philosophical Basis: If someone asks why they attributed daughters to Allah, given that this is inherently repulsive to any rational mind capable of understanding the obligation of accountability, the answer is: Their statement stemmed from prioritizing pure reason ('Aql) while disregarding transmitted revelation (Naql). Their methodology mirrors that of the philosophers who insist that only clear reason must be followed. If revelation agrees with reason, they argue, revelation is unnecessary; if it contradicts, revelation is rejected.
10. Misapplication of Terminology: They argued that a "Father" (Wālid) is so named because he is the cause of the child's existence (e.g., "Fever arises from the corruption of humors"). Therefore, they claimed Allah, being the necessary cause for the existence of the Angels, should be called the Father, without choice. They ignored the necessity of purifying Allah from any name implying deficiency and the obligation to restrict His names to the Beautiful Names mentioned in the Scripture. Because they disregarded Naql, they permitted using metaphorical and literal names for Allah and His attributes, calling Him "Lover" ('Ashiq) and "Beloved" (Ma'shūq), and "Father" (Wālid). However, by their own consensus, they did not call Him "Son" or "Begotten," which is utter misguidance.

أَمْ تَسْأَلُهُمْ أَجْرًا فَهُم مِّن مَّغْرَمٍ مُّثْقَلُونَ

(Or do you ask them for a reward? Then they are burdened by a debt.)