Tafsir of Surah An-Najm - Verse 28

Refuting the Claim of the Idolators that the Angels are Allah's Daughters

Allah the Exalted admonishes the idolators for calling the angels female names and claiming that they are Allah's daughters. Allah is far removed from what they ascribe to Him. Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah,

وَجَعَلُواْ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَـنِ إِنَـثاً أَشَهِدُواْ خَلْقَهُمْ سَتُكْتَبُ شَهَـدَتُهُمْ وَيُسْـَلُونَ

(And they make females the angels, who themselves are servants of the Most Gracious. Did they witness their creation Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned!)(43:19) Allah's statement here,

وَمَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ

(But they have no knowledge thereof.) meaning, they have no correct knowledge testifying to their statements. What they say is all lies, falsehood, fake and utter atheism,

إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لاَ يُغْنِى مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئاً

(They follow but conjecture, and verily, conjecture is no substitute for the truth.) meaning, conjecture is of no benefit and never takes the place of truth. In a Hadith recorded in the Sahih, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«إِيَّاكُمْ وَالظَّنَّ، فَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ الْحَدِيث»

(Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the most lying speech.)

The Necessity of turning away from the People of Misguidance

Allah's statement,

فَأَعْرِضْ عَن مَّن تَوَلَّى عَن ذِكْرِنَا

(Therefore withdraw from him who turns away from Our Reminder), means, stay away from those who turn away from the Truth and shun them,

وَلَمْ يُرِدْ إِلاَّ الْحَيَوةَ الدُّنْيَا

(and desires nothing but the life of this world.) meaning, whose aim and knowledge are concentrated on this life; this is the goal of those who have no goodness in them,

ذَلِكَ مَبْلَغُهُمْ مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ

(That is what they could reach of knowledge.) meaning, seeking this life and striving hard in its affairs is the best knowledge they have acquired. There is also the reported supplication:

«اللْهُمَّ لَا تَجْعَلِ الدُّنْيَا أَكْبَرَ هَمِّنَا، وَلَا مَبْلَغَ عِلْمِنَا»

(O Allah! Make not this life the greatest of our concerns nor the best knowledge that we can attain.) Allah's statement,

إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اهْتَدَى

(Verily, your Lord is He, Who knows best him who goes astray from His path, and He knows best him who receives guidance.) meaning, He is the Creator of all creatures and He knows whatever benefits His servants. Allah is the One Who guides whom He wills and misguides whom He wills, and all of this indicates His power, knowledge and wisdom. Certainly, He is Just and never legislates or decrees unjustly.

Various Types of Zann

إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغْنِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ شَيْئًا (and conjecture is of no use in [ the matter on Truth.... 53:28) The Arabic word ظَن Zann is used in several different senses, and one of them is baseless thoughts. This is the sense in which it is employed in the verse, because baseless thoughts were the cause of idolatry. And the verse purports to remove the cause. Zann is also used as the antonym of yaqin. Yaqin refers to assured or definitive knowledge about something that really exists, not the figment of someone's imagination. In this case, there is no room for any doubt or suspicion, as for instance knowledge gained from the Qur'an and Prophetic Traditions uninterruptedly reported by an indefinite number of people or by such a large number that it is impossible that they should agree upon falsehood. As opposed to this certain knowledge, zann is sometime used for the knowledge that is based on a proof, and not on baseless thoughts, but the proof is not so certain as may rule out other possibilities, as for example, injunctions based on general narratives of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The first type of injunctions is referred to as qat'iyyat or yaqiniyyat and the second type is referred to as zanniyyat. This type of Zann is recognized by Shari` ah. There is ample evidence in Qur'an and Sunnah of its recognition. The entire Ummah concurs that it is obligatory to act upon it. The above verse when denouncing zann, refers to the first type of zann which connotes baseless thoughts. Thus there is no contradiction.

Making deities of stone and worshipping them, calling the angels ‘daughters of God,’ hoping to enter Paradise on the basis of recommendations—all these are non-serious beliefs. Non-serious beliefs are the product of minds that have no fear of God’s wrath. Fear of God puts a stop to pointless talk: the mind of one who has no such fear will become a babel of useless chatter.