Tafseer of The Prophets · Al-Anbiyaa · 21:26
And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says: And these who disbelieved in their Lord said: the Most Merciful has taken a child from among His angels. Whereupon He, exalted is His praise, declared — taking this as something monstrous of what they said, and dissociating Himself from what they ascribed to Him, glorified is He — that is to say: He sanctifies Himself from that — that this is not His attribute: بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُكْرَمُونَ (nay, but honored servants). He says: the angels are not as these disbelievers among the progeny of Ādam have described them, but rather they are honored servants — that is to say: Allah has honored them.
As Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَلَدًا سُبْحَانَهُ بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُكْرَمُونَ (and they said: the Most Merciful has taken a child — glorified is He — nay, but honored servants): he said: the Jews said that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, entered into marriage bonds with the jinn, from which the angels came forth. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, rejected this and refuted them with: بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُكْرَمُونَ (nay, but honored servants) — and the angels are not as they said, they are only servants whom Allah has honored through His worship.
Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muhammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda; and al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَلَدًا (and they said: the Most Merciful has taken a child): the Jews and groups of the people said that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, entered into marriage bonds with the jinn and that the angels are from the jinn. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: سُبْحَانَهُ بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُكْرَمُونَ (glorified is He, nay, but honored servants).
