Az-Zukhruf · Makki · ayah 16 of 89

Az-Zukhruf 43:16

أَمِ ٱتَّخَذَ مِمَّا يَخْلُقُ بَنَاتٍ وَأَصْفَىٰكُم بِٱلْبَنِينَ

“Or has He taken, out of what He has created, daughters and chosen you for [having] sons?”

Saheeh International

Essence

Their claim fails twice: the Creator takes no children from His creatures, and even by their own values the 'share' they gave Him exposes them.

A reflection

The leftovers offered to the Owner of everything

One classical commentator describes this passage as a debate arranged in the best possible order. First it shows that Allah having a child is impossible. A child must be a part of its parent, and whatever has parts is composed. Whatever is composed can be joined and separated, gathered and divided. Such a thing is a created servant, not the eternal God.

Then, second, the ayah answers them on their own ground. Even if a child were possible, look at what you have done.

Another commentary sets this beside the way they handled their crops and cattle. They divided them, a share for Allah and a share for their idols, and the worse share always ended up as His (6:136). The same pattern ran through how they spoke of Him.

That pattern is not only ancient. The ego naturally keeps the best for itself and offers Allah what is left. Picture a keen allotment gardener at harvest time. The fat, perfect tomatoes go into his own kitchen and to the neighbours he wants to impress. The split and misshapen ones go into a bag for the mosque's harvest table. He is not stingy by nature. He simply never thought about the order in which he chose.

The Owner of the heavens and the earth needs none of our produce. He created the whole garden. But the order of our choosing reveals what we really think of Him.

Someone may ask: why does Allah answer this claim so pointedly? Is He offended for His own sake? He is beyond harm. The answer is for the people making the claim. It holds up their own habits to the light. They can see how small a God they had imagined, and how large their own share of the plate had become.

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.