Al-Mu'minun · Makki · ayah 91 of 118

Al-Mu'minun 23:91

مَا ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِن وَلَدٍ وَمَا كَانَ مَعَهُۥ مِنْ إِلَـٰهٍ ۚ إِذًا لَّذَهَبَ كُلُّ إِلَـٰهٍۭ بِمَا خَلَقَ وَلَعَلَا بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

“Allāh has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have [sought to] overcome others. Exalted is Allāh above what they describe [concerning Him].”

Saheeh International

Essence

Two gods would mean two kingdoms and endless rivalry; the world's seamless order is His signature, and He is above all description.

A reflection

What the sketch tells you about the artist

A court artist sits in the public gallery and sketches the defendant. Afterwards, people compare her drawings with those of two other artists covering the same trial. The faces are recognisably different. Each drawing says as much about the artist's hand as about the man in the dock.

The ayah ends: subḥāna Allāhi ʿammā yaṣifūn, glory be to Allah, far above what they describe. The lexicons give waṣf, describing, a striking picture. One report uses the verb of thin cloth. Even when the body does not show through, the cloth still yaṣif, gives away the shape of the limbs. A description outlines a thing, but it is shaped by the one who drapes it.

The people of Makkah draped their own shapes over Allah. Daughters, because they had daughters. Partners, because their world ran on partnerships. Their description revealed them, not Him.

Subḥān answers that. The lexicons explain tasbīḥ as tanzīh, putting at a distance: declaring Him clear of everything unworthy. The same letters also carry swimming and stars gliding in their orbits; the lexicons differ on how the two families meet.

Here is where the ego shrinks. Every human being is tempted to make God in a familiar image. A stern father, a lenient friend, a celestial manager who agrees with our opinions. Subḥān Allāh clears all of it away.

One reflection puts it simply: whoever clears Him of every flaw stops pretending to be flawless. Say subḥān Allāh slowly and you are not adding to Him. You are removing your own drawing from His face, and standing back in wonder.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.