وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِمَا ضَرَبَ لِلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مَثَلًا ظَلَّ وَجْهُهُۥ مُسْوَدًّا وَهُوَ كَظِيمٌ 17
Translations
And when one of them is given good tidings of that which he attributes to the Most Merciful in comparison [i.e., a daughter], his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief.
Transliteration
Wa-idha bushira ahuduhum bima daraba lil-rahmani mathalan zalla wajhuhu muswaddan wa huwa kazhim
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes the disbelievers' reaction when they are given news of daughters being born to them, while they themselves attribute daughters to Allah—a comparison they find abhorrent. Their faces darken with suppressed anger and grief (wajhuhu muswaddan), and they are filled with internal rage (kazhim) at this supposed attribution to Allah. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that this ayah highlights the hypocrisy and ignorance of the pre-Islamic Arabs who rejected daughters for themselves yet attributed them to God, demonstrating the irrationality of polytheistic belief.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Az-Zukhruf (a Meccan surah), which refutes pagan Arab beliefs and practices. The broader context (43:15-19) addresses the pagan custom of attributing female angels and daughters to Allah while considering daughters inferior for themselves—a practice the Quran condemns as both illogical and insulting to God's majesty.
Related Hadiths
While no hadith directly quotes this ayah, Sahih Bukhari (3331) contains traditions about the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of burying female infants alive, reflecting the cultural context of rejecting daughters mentioned in this surah. Additionally, traditions in Sunan Ibn Majah discuss proper treatment of daughters as a means of entering Paradise, contrasting with the attitude condemned here.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us to recognize cognitive dissonance in our own beliefs and practices—we must examine whether we hold others to standards we don't apply to ourselves, and align our actions with our professed values through sincere self-reflection and submission to God's wisdom.