The Night Journey (Al-Isra’)
Verses 40-44 GROUP_633 17.40-44
40
أَفَأَصْفَاكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِالْبَنِينَ وَاتَّخَذَ مِنَ الْمَلآئِكَةِ إِنَاثًا إِنَّكُمْ لَتَقُولُونَ قَوْلاً عَظِيمًا
What! Has your Lord then favoured you with sons and Himself adopted females from among the angels? What you say is monstrous.
41
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِي هَـذَا الْقُرْآنِ لِيَذَّكَّرُواْ وَمَا يَزِيدُهُمْ إِلاَّ نُفُورًا
We have explained [the truth] in this Quran in various ways, so that they may take heed, but it has only increased their aversion.
42
قُل لَّوْ كَانَ مَعَهُ آلِهَةٌ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذًا لاَّبْتَغَوْاْ إِلَى ذِي الْعَرْشِ سَبِيلاً
Say, ‘If there were [other] deities along with Him, as they claim, then they would surely have tried to find a way to the Lord of the Throne.
43
سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا
Glory be to Him! Exalted above all that they say!
44
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدَهِ وَلَـكِن لاَّ تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا
The seven heavens and the earth and all who dwell therein glorify Him. There is not a single thing but glorifies Him with His praise; but you do not understand their glorification. Truly, He is forbearing and most forgiving.’
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) The truth is so complete and perfect in itself that, if any untruth is placed next to it, the truth immediately stands out as such. One example of an untruth is ascribing partners to God. Worshippers of deities call their supposed partners God’s children, but this in itself is a refutation of their claim. Firstly, if these so-called partners are given feminine gender and called God’s daughters, then immediately an objection may be raised, for the disbelievers hold that daughters belong to the weaker sex. Why then would God approve of a member of this weaker class as His partner? How surprising it would be if He gave man sons as his loving children and chose daughters for Himself! Secondly, if the partner is taken to be God’s son, —who, in the experience of man is a symbol of power and strength—this again would defy understanding, for, power is indivisible. If in any system there is more than one person invested with power, a struggle between them is bound to take place, for each one of them would want to have absolute power. Now, if there had been more than one powerful being in this universe, there would certainly have been a struggle for power and this would have created disorder and dissension. But, as there is no disorder or dissension in the universe, this proves that no such being or beings exist as have a share in God’s power. Whether God’s supposed partners are called sons or daughters, the notion of partnership clashes with reality. The truth is that the entire universe rejects all ideas that ascribe partners to God’s divinity.