أَمْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةَ إِنَـٰثًا وَهُمْ شَـٰهِدُونَ 150
Translations
Or did We create the angels as females while they were witnesses?"
Transliteration
Am khalaqna al-malaaikah inathan wa hum shahidun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refutes the pagan Arabs' false claim that the angels are female beings and daughters of Allah. The phrase "wa hum shahidun" (and they are witnesses) sarcastically implies that if this were true, the disbelievers themselves would have witnessed the angels' creation, yet they have no such knowledge. Ibn Kathir explains this as a rhetorical question emphasizing the absurdity of attributing feminine gender to the angels and particularly to Allah's offspring, which contradicts both reason and revelation.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah As-Saffat's broader refutation of polytheistic beliefs prevalent in Mecca. The surah addresses multiple false doctrines of the Quraysh, including their attribution of daughters to Allah and their claim about the angels being female. This reflects the pre-Islamic Arabian cultural context where certain tribes believed in female deities and angelic beings.
Related Hadiths
The Quran (43:19) contains a related theme where Allah states: 'And they made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation?' Surah An-Nahl (16:57) similarly refutes this claim, condemning those who attribute daughters to Allah while assigning sons to themselves.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to confidently reject false claims about Allah's nature and creation that lack evidence, reminding us that true knowledge comes only through divine revelation, not conjecture or cultural assumptions. It also demonstrates the Quran's use of logical argumentation in addressing misconceptions about Islamic theology.