Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:57

The tribes of Khuza‘ah and Kinanah used to say: "The angels are the daughters of Allah."

{Subḥānahu} (Exalted is He): A declaration of His essence being far removed from the attribution of offspring to Him, or an expression of astonishment at their claim.

{And for them is what they desire}: Meaning, sons.

• It is grammatically permissible for {mā yashtahūn} (what they desire) to be in the nominative case (raf‘) as an initial subject (mubtada’).
• It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative case (naṣb) as a conjunction linked to "the daughters"—meaning: "They assigned to themselves what they desire of male children."

{Ẓalla} (remains/becomes): Used here in the sense of "becoming," just as bāta, aṣbaḥa, and amsā are used to denote a change of state. It is also possible that ẓalla is used literally because most births occur at night, so he spends his day (nahārahu) gloomy, his face darkened with sorrow and shame before the people.

{Wa-huwa kaẓīm}: Filled with suppressed rage toward the woman.

{Yatawārā min al-qawm}: He hides from the people.

{Min} (because of): Due to the "evil" of the news he has received, and due to their mockery. He debates with himself, considering:

{Ayumsikuhu ‘alā hūn}: Should he keep what he was given tidings of, despite the humiliation and disgrace?

{Am yadussuhu fī al-turāb}: Or should he bury it in the dust? (i.e., bury it alive).

• It is recited: Ayumsikuhā ‘alā hūn am yadussuhā (using the feminine pronoun).
• It is also recited: ‘alā hawān (meaning disgrace).

{Alā sā’a mā yaḥkumūn}: How evil is that which they judge! In that they attribute to Allah the child who, in their own estimation, holds this lowly status, while they assign to themselves that which is the opposite of this description.