أَلَكُمُ ٱلذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ ٱلْأُنثَىٰ 21
Translations
Is the male for you and for Him the female?
Transliteration
Alakum al-dhakaru wa lahu al-untha
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah criticizes the pre-Islamic Arab practice of attributing daughters to Allah while reserving sons for themselves, exposing the illogical and unjust nature of their polytheistic beliefs. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that this verse highlights the absurdity of the Meccan idolaters' theological contradictions—they would reject daughters as inferior for themselves yet assigned female deities (like Al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat) to Allah. The ayah serves as both a refutation of shirk (polytheism) and a defense of the oneness and justice of Allah's nature.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in Mecca during the early Islamic period when the Quraysh were heavily invested in their pagan religious system. The immediate context of Surah An-Najm addresses the false claims of the idolaters regarding their invented deities and their unjust gender-based discrimination, which Allah condemns as hypocritical and illogical.
Related Hadiths
Hadith in Sunan An-Nasai and Jami' at-Tirmidhi from 'Aishah (RA) regarding the refutation of those who attribute daughters to Allah, emphasizing that such beliefs contradict reason and divine justice.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to recognize and reject contradictory beliefs and unjust practices, whether in theology or society, while understanding that true faith requires logical consistency and respect for all of Allah's creation regardless of gender.