Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:190
But when He gives them a good [child], they ascribe partners to Him concerning that which He has given them. Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him.
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.
The statement concerning the explanation of His saying: فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمَا صَالِحًا جَعَلا لَهُ شُرَكَاءَ فِيمَا آتَاهُمَا فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ (190) ("And when He gave them a righteous child, they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them; but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him." (7:190))
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And when Allah granted them a righteous child as they had asked, they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given and granted them.
* * *
Then the exegetes differed concerning "the partners (al-shurakāʾ)" which they ascribed to Him in the child that had been granted to them.
Some said: they ascribed partners to Him in the name.
* Mention of who said that:
15513 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad related to us, saying: ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of Samura ibn Jundub, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, who said: No child of Ḥawwāʾ (Eve) remained alive, and so she made a vow that, if a child of hers were to remain alive, she would name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith" (servant of al-Ḥārith). Then a child of hers remained alive, and she named it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith." And that came about only through the suggestion of Satan.
15514 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, who said: Abū al-ʿAlāʾ related to us, on the authority of Samura ibn Jundub: that he reported that Ādam, peace be upon him, named his son "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith."
15515 - ... he said: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, who said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān al-Taymī, on the authority of Abū al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Shikhkhīr, on the authority of Samura ibn Jundub, who said: Ādam named his son: "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith."
15516 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Ḥawwāʾ used to bear children for Ādam, and she would consecrate them to Allah and name them "ʿUbayd Allāh" and "ʿAbd Allāh" and the like; but then death would strike them. Then Iblīs came to her and to Ādam and said: If you were to name it with a name other than that with which you name it, it would remain alive! Then she bore him a son, and he named him "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith." Concerning him Allah, blessed and exalted is He, revealed: هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ("He it is Who created you from a single soul") up to His saying: (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them), to the end of the verse.
15517 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his saying about Ādam: هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ("He it is Who created you from a single soul") up to His saying: فَمَرَّتْ بِهِ ("and she carried it about") — and she doubted: was she pregnant or not — فَلَمَّا أَثْقَلَتْ دَعَوَا اللَّهَ رَبَّهُمَا لَئِنْ آتَيْتَنَا صَالِحًا ("and when she grew heavy, they both called upon Allah, their Lord: if You give us a righteous child...") — the verse. Then Satan came to them both and said: Do you know what will be born to you? Or do you know what it will be? Will it be an animal or not? And he made the lie appear fair to them both — for he is indeed a manifest tempter. And already before this she had borne two children who both had died. Satan said to them both: If you do not name it after me, it will not come out well-formed, and it will die as the first two died! Then they named their child "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith." And that is His saying: (and when He gave them a righteous child, they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them) — the verse.
15518 - al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: When his first child was born to him, Iblīs came to him and said: I will give you sincere counsel concerning this child of yours: name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith"! Then Ādam said: I seek refuge in Allah from obeying you! — Ibn ʿAbbās said: and his name in heaven was "al-Ḥārith" — Ādam said: I seek refuge in Allah from obeying you; I obeyed you in eating from the tree, and then you drove me out of Paradise, so I will never obey you again. Then his child died. Afterwards another child was born to him, and he said: Obey me, otherwise it will die as the first one died! But he disobeyed him, and it died. Then he said: I will keep killing them until you name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith." And he did not desist from him until he named it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith." And that is His saying: (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them) — he gave him a share in his obedience, but not in worship; he did not ascribe partners to Allah, but he obeyed him.
15519 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Hārūn, who said: al-Zubayr ibn al-Khirrīt informed us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: Neither Ādam nor Ḥawwāʾ ascribed partners to Allah. No child of theirs remained alive, and so Satan came to them and said: If it would please you that a child of yours remain alive, then name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith"! And that is His saying: (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them).
15520 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: فَلَمَّا تَغَشَّاهَا حَمَلَتْ حَمْلا خَفِيفًا ("and when he covered her, she bore a light burden"), he said: No child was born to Ādam, peace be upon him, but that it died, and so Satan came to him and said: If it would please you that this child of yours remain alive, then name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith"! And he did that. He said: Thus they ascribed a partner to Him in the name, but they did not ascribe a partner to Him in worship.
15521 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: (and when He gave them a righteous child, they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them) — it has been related to us that no child of theirs remained alive, and so Satan came to them and said to them both: Name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith"! And that came about through the suggestion of Satan and his command, and it was an association in obedience, not an association in worship.
15522 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: (and when He gave them a righteous child, they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them; but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him), he said: No child of Ādam and his wife remained alive. Then Satan said to them both: When a child is born to you, name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith"! And they did that and obeyed him. And that is the saying of Allah: (and when He gave them a righteous child, they ascribed to Him partners) — the verse.
15523 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī Ḥafṣa, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning his saying: أَثْقَلَتْ دَعَوَا اللَّهَ رَبَّهُمَا ("she grew heavy, and they both called upon Allah, their Lord") ... up to His saying, the Exalted: (but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him), he said: When Ḥawwāʾ was pregnant with the first child she bore, Iblīs came to her — when she grew heavy, before she gave birth — and said: O Ḥawwāʾ, what is that which is in your belly? She said: I do not know. He said: From where will it come out? From your nose, or from your eye, or from your ear? She said: I do not know. He said: What do you think: if it comes out whole, will you obey me in what I command you? She said: Yes. He said: Name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith"! — and Iblīs was called "al-Ḥārith." She said: Yes. Then she said to Ādam: Someone came to me in sleep and said to me such and such. He said: That is Satan, be on your guard against him, for he is our enemy who drove us out of Paradise! Then Iblīs came to her again and repeated it to her, and she said: Yes. And when she gave birth, Allah caused him to come out whole, and she named him "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith." And that is His saying: (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them; but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him).
15524 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr and Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: He was asked: Did Ādam ascribe partners (to Allah)? He said: I seek refuge in Allah from claiming that Ādam ascribed partners; but when Ḥawwāʾ grew heavy, Iblīs came to her and said to her: From where will this come out — from your nose, or from your eye, or from your mouth? And thus he brought her to despair. Then he said: What do you think: if it comes out well-formed — Ibn Fuḍayl added: without harming you and without killing you — will you then obey me? She said: Yes. He said: Then name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith"! And she did that. Jarīr added: his association was only in the name.
15525 - Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: Then she — namely Ḥawwāʾ — bore a boy, and Iblīs came to them and said: Name it "my servant," otherwise I will kill it! Ādam, peace be upon him, said to him: I (once) obeyed you and you drove me out of Paradise! And he refused to obey him, and named it "ʿAbd al-Raḥmān." Then Allah gave Iblīs power over it, and he killed it. Afterwards she was pregnant with another; and when she bore it, he said to her: Name it "my servant," otherwise I will kill it! Ādam said to him: I (once) obeyed you and you drove me out of Paradise! And he refused, and named it "Ṣāliḥ," and he killed it. And when it was the third, he said to them both: Now then, since you have overcome me, name it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith" — and that was the name of Iblīs; he was called "Iblīs" only when he fell into despair (ablasa). And they yielded and obeyed. That is when Allah, blessed and exalted is He, says: (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them), namely in the naming.
* * *
And others said: no, by this are meant a man and a woman from the people of unbelief among the children of Ādam, who ascribed to Allah partners of gods and idols when He granted them the child that He granted them. They said: the meaning of the saying is: هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا فَلَمَّا تَغَشَّاهَا ("He it is Who created you from a single soul and made from it its mate, that he might find rest in her; and when he covered her...") — that is to say: this unbelieving man — (she bore a light burden; and when she grew heavy) you both called upon Allah, your Lord. They said: and this belongs to that with which the saying is begun in the manner of address, and which is then turned back to the report about the absent (third person), as it is said: هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ حَتَّى إِذَا كُنْتُمْ فِي الْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِمْ بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ [Surah Yūnus: 22] ("He it is Who causes you to travel over land and sea, until, when you are in the ships and they sail with them on a fair wind..."). And we have already set forth its parallels with their proof-texts earlier.
* Mention of who said that:
15526 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them), he said: This concerned certain adherents of religions, and it did not concern Ādam.
15527 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, who said: al-Ḥasan said: By this is meant the progeny of Ādam, namely those among them who ascribed partners after him — that is to say, with His saying: (and when He gave them a righteous child, they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them).
15528 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: al-Ḥasan used to say: They are the Jews and the Christians; Allah granted them children, and they made them Jews and Christians.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct of the two opinions is the opinion of him who says: by this is meant, with His saying (and when He gave them a righteous child, they ascribed to Him partners), an association in the name, not in worship — and that by this are meant Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ, on account of the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the authoritative argument among the exegetes concerning that.
* * *
If someone were to say: what then do you say — given that the matter is as you have described in the explanation of this verse, namely that by this are meant Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ — concerning His saying: (but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him)? Is it a denial on the part of Allah that He should have a partner in the names, or in worship? For if you say: "in the names," then its untenability is demonstrated by His saying: أَيُشْرِكُونَ مَا لا يَخْلُقُ شَيْئًا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ ("Do they associate (with Him) that which creates nothing, while they themselves are created?"); and if you say: "in worship," then it is said to you: did Ādam then ascribe as partner any of the servants of Allah other than Him in worship?
He is answered: The statement concerning the explanation of His saying (but He is exalted above what they associate with Him) is not as you supposed. The statement concerning it is rather: Allah is exalted above what the polytheists of the Arabs (mushrikīn), the worshippers of idols, associate with Him. As for the report about Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ, it has already ended at His saying: (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them); then it is begun anew with His saying: (but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him), as:
15529 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning his saying: (but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him), he says: This is a separate part of the verse about Ādam, directed specifically against the gods of the Arabs.
* * *
And the Qurʾān-reciters differed concerning the reading of His saying: (shurakāʾ).
Most of the reciters of the people of Medina, and some Meccans and Kūfans, read this as: "jaʿalā lahu shirkan" (they made Him (the object of) an association), with a kasra on the shīn, in the meaning of "al-shirka" (association/share).
* * *
And some Meccans, and most of the reciters of the Kūfans, and some Baṣrans, read it: (jaʿalā lahu shurakāʾa), with a ḍamma on the shīn, in the meaning of the plural of "sharīk" (partner).
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And this reading is the correct of the two readings, for if the reading with a kasra on the shīn were correct, then the saying would necessarily have to read: "and when He gave them a righteous child, they made for another than Him a share therein" — for Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ did not believe that their child was a gift from Iblīs, so as to then make for Allah a share therein by naming it "ʿAbd Allāh"; rather, they undoubtedly believed that their child belonged to the provision and the gift of Allah, and then they named it "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith," and thus made for Iblīs a share therein in the name.
Therefore, if the reading of him who read "shirkan" were correct, then what we said would necessarily hold, namely that the saying would read: "they made for another than Him a share therein." And in the descent of the revelation of Allah with His saying: (they ascribed to Him (lahu)) lies that which makes clear that the correct reading is (shurakāʾ), with a ḍamma on the shīn, in the manner that I set forth earlier.
* * *
If someone were to say: but Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ named their son only "ʿAbd al-Ḥārith," and "al-Ḥārith" is a single one, whereas His saying (shurakāʾ — partners) is a plural; how then can He, whose praise is exalted, describe them as having "ascribed partners to Him," while they ascribed only one (partner)?
He is answered: we have already demonstrated earlier that the Arabs may express the report about a single (person) in the manner of the report about a multitude, when they do not intend a specific, named individual, as in His saying: الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ [Surah Āl ʿImrān: 173] ("those to whom the people said: the people have gathered against you"), while the one who said that was only a single person; yet the report was expressed in the manner of the report about a multitude, because no one specific person was intended. And that is widespread in the language of the Arabs and in their poetry.
* * *
As for His saying: (but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him) — this is a glorification by Allah, blessed and exalted is He, of Himself, and an exaltation of Himself above what the liars allege about Him and above the gods and idols which they set up alongside Him, as:
15530 - al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: (but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him), he said: it is the disavowal (al-inkāf) — the Mighty and Exalted disavows Himself (of partners), that is to say: He glorifies Himself — and the angels disavow Him (of partners), and everything that glorifies Him.
15531 - al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn ʿUyayna informed us, saying: I heard Ṣadaqa relate on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: this belongs to the joined and the separated: His saying (they ascribed to Him partners in what He had given them) concerns the matter of Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ; then Allah, blessed and exalted is He, said: (but Allah is exalted above what they associate with Him), he said: above what the polytheists associate with Him — and He did not mean them both (Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ) by it.
