سُوْرَةُ الصَّافَّاتِ
Surah As-Saaffaat (37) — Ayah 150
أَمْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةَ إِنَـٰثًا وَهُمْ شَـٰهِدُونَ ﴿150﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Or did We create the angels female while they were witnesses?
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
أَمْ
am
Or
خَلَقْنَا
khalaqnā
did We create
ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةَ
l-malāikata
the Angels
إِنَـٰثًۭا
ināthan
females
وَهُمْ
wahum
while they
شَـٰهِدُونَ
shāhidūna
(were) witnesses
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
150. Or did We create the angels as females [89] while they were witnesses?
[89]
The Quraysh Declaring Angels as the Daughters of Allah:
In these verses, Allah Almighty has mentioned, besides the denial of the Hereafter by the disbelievers of Makkah, another great misguidance of theirs, which is related to shirk in the essence or the greatest and worst form of shirk. That is, they believed that Allah also has offspring. And this is such a great sin about which very harsh words have been used. Then, even within this belief, they committed various injustices. Their belief was that the angels are the daughters of Allah Almighty. Then, they would make imaginary idols and statues of them and worship them. Among these, three idols are mentioned in the Quran.
(1) Lat: This is the feminine form of "ilah" (deity), meaning the shrine or sanctuary of Lat was in Ta’if, and the Banu Thaqif were its devotees.
(2) Uzza: The feminine form of "Aziz," meaning "the mighty one." This was the special goddess of the Quraysh, and her sanctuary was located at Hiraas in the valley of Nakhlah between Makkah and Ta’if.
(3) Manat: Its sanctuary was located at Qudayd on the shore of the Red Sea between Makkah and Madinah. The Banu Khuza’ah, Aws, and Khazraj were its devotees.
Thus, the polytheists of Arabia committed a great injustice: firstly, by declaring Allah to have offspring, and secondly, by assigning partners whom they considered to be the daughters of Allah. Whereas, for themselves, they never liked daughters; rather, they would bury them alive.
[89]
The Quraysh Declaring Angels as the Daughters of Allah:
In these verses, Allah Almighty has mentioned, besides the denial of the Hereafter by the disbelievers of Makkah, another great misguidance of theirs, which is related to shirk in the essence or the greatest and worst form of shirk. That is, they believed that Allah also has offspring. And this is such a great sin about which very harsh words have been used. Then, even within this belief, they committed various injustices. Their belief was that the angels are the daughters of Allah Almighty. Then, they would make imaginary idols and statues of them and worship them. Among these, three idols are mentioned in the Quran.
(1) Lat: This is the feminine form of "ilah" (deity), meaning the shrine or sanctuary of Lat was in Ta’if, and the Banu Thaqif were its devotees.
(2) Uzza: The feminine form of "Aziz," meaning "the mighty one." This was the special goddess of the Quraysh, and her sanctuary was located at Hiraas in the valley of Nakhlah between Makkah and Ta’if.
(3) Manat: Its sanctuary was located at Qudayd on the shore of the Red Sea between Makkah and Madinah. The Banu Khuza’ah, Aws, and Khazraj were its devotees.
Thus, the polytheists of Arabia committed a great injustice: firstly, by declaring Allah to have offspring, and secondly, by assigning partners whom they considered to be the daughters of Allah. Whereas, for themselves, they never liked daughters; rather, they would bury them alive.
