Al-Israa (The Night Journey)

Verse 40

Table of Contents

    40. “Has your Lord then distinguished you by giving you sons, and has taken daughters (for Himself) from among the angels? Verily, you are uttering a grievous saying.

    From among the deviant ideas which pagans held, there was one concerning the fact that they claimed angels to be the daughters of Allah, and the Qur’an has repeatedly dealt with this matter, regarding it to be a great lie and a false accusation.

    The following verses may then be referred to as examples:

    “Or has He daughters while you have sons?”1 “What! For you the males and for Him the females!”2

    The first verse means:

    “Are there daughters for Him and sons for you?”

    The second one means:

    “Are there sons for you and daughters for Him?”

    Certainly, the belief regarding Allah’s having offspring, has long been held both by the Jews and by the Christians. However, the belief held in Allah’s having daughters, has been exclusive to the idol-worshippers.

    Therefore, this noble verse makes allusion to one of the superstitious beliefs of the pagans, thus making transparent the logical basis of their thinking by this means. Many of them used to hold the view that angels were daughters of Allah, they were shameful of even listening to or hearing the word ‘girl’ and felt uneasy and unfortunate for having a daughter born to their household.

    Documenting its claims by their own logic, the Qur’an affirms:

    “Has your Lord then distinguished you by giving you sons, and has taken daughters (for Himself) from among the angels?…”

    Undoubtedly, daughters just in the same way as sons are surely both from among the Divine blessings and there is no difference between them in value from humankind point of view.

    However, the Holy Qur’an seeks to condemn them with their own logic, questioning them as to how ignorant they are by attributing to their Lord what they would themselves be ashamed of having in their own possession.

    Later, at the end of the holy verse, as a decisive verdict, the Qur’an declares:

    “…Verily, you are uttering a grievous saying.”

    This is a statement which is incompatible with all kinds of logical reasoning and it is without solid foundations on several grounds, for:

    1. Your belief in Him having a child is a grave insult to His sanctuary, because He is neither composed of matter; nor does He require any physical provisions; nor does He require the survival of His generation.

    2. Why is it that you regard all of Allah’s children as being daughters while you consider girls as having the lowest possible status?

    3. Moreover, this belief is also regarded as an insult to the status of the Divine angels who are the followers of the truth and the near-stationed of His presence. You get furious upon hearing the name ‘girls’ while you regard girls as close associates of the Divine domain.