وَيُنذِرَ الَّذينَ قالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا
And to warn those who say: ‘Allah has taken a son.’
EXEGESIS
Walad: although here the term is used for a boy, it has the general meaning of offspring (mawlūd), like in the verse, and for each of his parents a sixth of what he leaves, if he has children (walad); but if he has no children (walad) … (4:11). Therefore, the term can include sons as well as daughters.
Qālū (they said): the verse actually uses the past tense (here translated as say), and therefore includes previous nations as well.
EXPOSITION
This warning has been said to be directed towards the Christians and/or the Jews, as per the apparent meaning of: The Jews say: ‘Ezra is the son of Allah,’ and the Christians say: ‘Christ is the son of Allah’ (9:30), and/or the pagans of Mecca, who claimed the angels were the daughters of God (43:16, 53:27).
Unlike verse 2 which was very general in its address, this verse specifies the warning to those who claim God had offspring. This specification highlights the gravity of this claim; verses 19:90-91 state: The heavens are about to be rent apart at it, the earth to split open, and the mountains to collapse into bits, that they should ascribe a son to the All-Beneficent, which is expounded further in the next verse.
This verse does not specify the nature of taking offspring. In Sūrat al-Anʿām, for example, the apparent meaning is that some believe(d) this to be a physical act, comparing God to themselves and thinking God would somehow reproduce and require or want progeny. To this God replies in a brief yet conclusive manner, how could He have a son when He has had no spouse? (6:101).
Some other verses clearly use progeny in a more figurative sense, such as The Jews and the Christians say: ‘We are Allah’s children and His beloved ones’ (5:18), in a sense claiming that someone who is of high honour or closeness can be considered a child of God. The term taken (ittakhadha) seems to be referring more to this rather than the begetting spoken of in Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, as it suggests God has somehow taken some great ones from His creation and adopted or taken them as His offspring.
In any case, both types are preposterous claims and misleading, and even the latter can cause serious deviancy in faith and belief. Nothing can be compared to God, nor should any partners or equals be assigned to Him. Here the verse is therefore general, and denies any sort of divine progeny and repudiates any sort of begetting.
The verse is also setting the stage for the story that is about to come. The story of the People of the Cave was considered, prior to the revelation of these verses, a Christian miracle and exclusive to them. It is as if to say that the People of the Book should not think that by relating this story and affirming the miracle experienced by the Christian youths that God is validating Trinitarian or other beliefs; rather, the opposite.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
- Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.’”
- I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
- This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
[1] Raghib, p. 883.
[2] Tabrisi, 6/694; Qurtubi, 10/353; Mizan, 13/238.
[3] Tabrisi, 6/694; Razi, 21/424.
[4] See also Mizan, 13/239.
[5] Isaiah 44:6.
[6] Mark 12:29.
[7] Psalms 2:7.
[8] John 3:16.
[9] John 5:18.