بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ وَلَمْ تَكُن لَّهُۥ صَـٰحِبَةٌ ۖ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ 101
Translations
[He is] Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He does not have a companion [i.e., wife] and He created all things? And He is, of all things, Knowing.
Transliteration
Badīʿu as-samāwāti wa-al-arḍ. Annā yakūnu lahu waladun wa-lam takun lahu ṣāḥibatun wa-khalaqa kulla shayʾin wa-huwa bi-kulli shayʾin ʿalīm.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms Allah's absolute oneness (Tawhīd) by declaring Him the Originator of the heavens and earth without precedent or example. The ayah refutes the pagan Arab belief in offspring of Allah and the Christian doctrine of divine sonship, emphasizing that Allah has no consort or wife, and therefore logically cannot have children. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note that this ayah uses rational argument (qiyās): since Allah created all things and is all-knowing, His nature is completely distinct from creation, making procreation impossible for Him.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-An'am (Meccan), which was revealed during the Meccan period and addresses fundamental Islamic doctrine. The surah extensively refutes polytheism and idolatry prevalent among the Quraysh. This particular ayah responds directly to pre-Islamic Arab beliefs and Christian theological claims regarding divine offspring, presenting logical proofs for Allah's absolute uniqueness.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah (shirk)' (Sahih Bukhari 2654). Related thematically, the hadith qudsi: 'Allah said: I am so self-sufficient that I am not in need of having a partner' (Sahih Muslim 2677), emphasizing Allah's absolute independence and completeness.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that Allah's nature is fundamentally different from creation, beyond human categories and limitations, inviting believers to contemplate the logical impossibility of associating partners with the Creator. For modern readers, it encourages rational reflection on faith and provides intellectual grounds to reject idolatry in all its forms, whether literal or metaphorical, reminding us of Allah's perfect self-sufficiency and our complete dependence on Him.
Related Ayahs
لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Aware.
وَذَرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَذَكِّرْ بِهِۦٓ أَن تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِىٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ وَإِن تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍ لَّا يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَآ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا۟ بِمَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْفُرُونَ
And leave those who take their religion as amusement and diversion and whom the worldly life has deluded. But remind with it [i.e., the Qur’ān], lest a soul be given up to destruction for what it earned; it will have other than Allāh no protector and no intercessor. And if it should offer every compensation, it would not be taken from it [i.e., that soul]. Those are the ones who are given to destruction for what they have earned. For them will be a drink of scalding water and a painful punishment because they used to disbelieve.
لِّكُلِّ نَبَإٍ مُّسْتَقَرٌّ ۚ وَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ
For every news [i.e., happening] is a finality; and you are going to know.
وَإِذَا جَآءَكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَا فَقُلْ سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ ۖ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ٱلرَّحْمَةَ ۖ أَنَّهُۥ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنكُمْ سُوٓءًۢا بِجَهَـٰلَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَنَّهُۥ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And when those come to you who believe in Our verses, say, "Peace be upon you. Your Lord has decreed upon Himself mercy: that any of you who does wrong out of ignorance and then repents after that and corrects himself - indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful."