Tafseer of Consultation · Ash-Shura · 42:50
Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent.
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.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: أَوْ يُزَوِّجُهُمْ ذُكْرَانًا وَإِنَاثًا (or He pairs them, sons and daughters), he said: He intermingles them. He says: the pairing is that the woman bears a boy, then bears a girl, then bears a boy, then bears a girl.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement: يَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ إِنَاثًا وَيَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ الذُّكُورَ (He grants to whom He wills daughters, and He grants to whom He wills sons): capable of that, by Allah, is our Lord, that He grants to the man sons without any daughter being among them, and that He grants to the man sons and daughters and unites them all for him, وَيَجْعَلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَقِيمًا (and He makes whom He wills barren), so that no child is born to him.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning the statement of Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He: يَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ إِنَاثًا وَيَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ الذُّكُورَ (He grants to whom He wills daughters, and He grants to whom He wills sons) without any daughters being among them, أَوْ يُزَوِّجُهُمْ ذُكْرَانًا وَإِنَاثًا (or He pairs them, sons and daughters), he said: He grants them daughters and sons, and He makes whom He wills barren, so that no child is born to him.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: وَيَجْعَلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَقِيمًا (and He makes whom He wills barren). He says: He does not let conception take place.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning his statement: وَيَجْعَلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَقِيمًا (and He makes whom He wills barren): he begets not a single one, nor two.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbaydallāh informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his statement: يَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ إِنَاثًا وَيَهَبُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ الذُّكُورَ (He grants to whom He wills daughters, and He grants to whom He wills sons) without any daughter being among them, أَوْ يُزَوِّجُهُمْ ذُكْرَانًا وَإِنَاثًا (or He pairs them, sons and daughters): the woman bears one time a boy and another time a girl, وَيَجْعَلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ عَقِيمًا (and He makes whom He wills barren), so that no child is born to him.
And Ibn Zayd said concerning the meaning of his statement: أَوْ يُزَوِّجُهُمْ ذُكْرَانًا وَإِنَاثًا (or He pairs them, sons and daughters), he said: or He places in a single womb a boy and a girl as twins; that is his statement: أَوْ يُزَوِّجُهُمْ ذُكْرَانًا وَإِنَاثًا (or He pairs them, sons and daughters).
And His statement: إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ قَدِيرٌ (Indeed, He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: indeed, Allah possesses knowledge of what He creates, and power to create what He wills; no knowledge of anything of His creation escapes Him, and nothing He wills to create renders Him powerless.
