His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And they made for Him from His servants a portion. Indeed, man is certainly a clear disbeliever." "Or has He taken from what He creates daughters and favored you with sons?" "And when one of them is given good tidings of that which he has attributed to the Most Merciful, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with grief." "Or one who is brought up in adornments while being in dispute, not clear?" "And they made the angels who are the servants of the Most Merciful females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned." The pronoun in "made" refers to the disbelievers of Quraysh and the Arabs, and the pronoun in "for Him" refers to Allah, the Exalted. And "portion" means pieces of something, and it is part of the whole. It is as if they made a portion of His servants a share for Him. This is in the saying of Mujahid and many of the interpreters regarding the saying of the Arabs: "The angels are the daughters of Allah." Some of the people of language said: "portion" refers to females. It is said: "The woman has given birth to a female". From this is the saying of the poet: If a free woman gives birth one day, there is no wonder; a free woman can give birth to a male sometimes. And it has been said that this verse is fabricated. And Qatadah said: What is meant by "portion" are the idols and Pharaoh and others who were worshipped besides Allah, meaning: a portion as a rival. Thus, this is a reprimand of the disbelievers in two matters: regarding the idols and regarding the angels. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, man is certainly a clear disbeliever": He used the general term, and what is meant is some of mankind, namely those who are making such claims and those similar to them. And "clear" in this verse is not transitive. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Or has He taken" is a transition and a confirmation. And this is a decisive argument against them; for the praiseworthy and beloved offspring has been granted to the children of Adam by Allah, the Exalted. So how can He take for Himself the least share? And "favored you" means: He has chosen you and made that a selection for you.

Then the proof was established against them in this meaning, and it was by His saying, the Most High: "And when it is said to them..." The word "Muswad" is the news of "Dhalla," and "Al-Kazhim" is the one who is filled with anger, who has suppressed his anger within himself. He is swallowing it and seeking to return it. This is something that is felt in anger. Then He increased their rebuke and the corruption of their opinion by His saying, the Most High: "Or one who is nurtured..." And "man" is in the position of accusative due to the action indicated by "Ja'alu," as if He said: "Or one who is nurtured in adornment, and it is that which you have specified for Allah, the Most High?" And similar to this, and the intended meaning of "man" is women, as said by Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, and Al-Suddi. And "yanashu" means: to grow and increase. The majority of the reciters read: "yanashu" with a fathah on the ya and a sukoon on the noon. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "yanashu" with a dammah on the ya and a sukoon on the noon, attributing the action with the hamzah. Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Asim - in the narration of Hafs - read: "yanashu" with a dammah on the ya, a fathah on the noon, and a shaddah on the sheen, attributing the action with the doubling. This is also the reading of Ibn Abbas, as well as Al-Hasan and Mujahid. In the Mus'haf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is: "Or one who does not grow except in adornment." And "al-hilyah" refers to ornaments made of gold, silver, and stones. And "al-khisam" refers to argumentation and disputation in dialogue. Rarely will you find a woman except that she corrupts the speech and mixes the meanings. In the Mus'haf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is: "And he is in speech not clear." And "mubin" in this verse is transitive, and the implication is: not clear in purpose or inclination and similar to this. Ibn Zayd said: The intended meaning of "one who is nurtured in adornment" in the verse is idols and statues, because they used to make many of them from gold and silver, and they would adorn many of them with jewelry.

And when He finished rebuking them for what they brought against Allah, the Most High, by their saying: "The angels are the daughters of Allah, glorified is He," Allah, the Most High, clarified the corruption of their statement. He specified it with another aspect of corruption, and that is their vile saying about the servants of Allah, the Most High, who are chosen and near: "That they are females." Most of the seven reciters, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Jubair, and Alqamah read: "The servants of the Most Merciful are females." Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Ibn Amir, Al-Hasan, Abu Rujai, Abu Ja'far, Al-A'raj, Qatadah, and Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "With the Most Merciful are females." This reading is more indicative of the elevation of their status and their closeness in honor, as it is said: "A king who is near." And the meanings have been varied in the Book of Allah, the Most High, in describing the angels in other than this verse. He, the Most High, said: "Rather, they are honored servants" [Al-Anbiya: 26], and He, glorified is He, said in another: "Indeed, those who are with your Lord" [Al-A'raf: 206]. In the Mus'haf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is: "And they made the angels the servants of the Most Merciful females."

And Nafi' read alone: "Do you witness" with two hamzah and without prolongation between them, with the first being opened and the second being closed, facilitating it between the hamzah and the waw. Al-Mufaddal narrated it from Asim with the verification of the two hamzah. Al-Musayyib read from Nafi' with prolongation between the two hamzah. Abu Amr, and Nafi' as well, and Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, and Mujahid read: "Do you witness" facilitating the second without prolongation. A group of the reciters read with facilitation in the second and a prolongation between them. Others read: "I witness" with one hamzah without questioning, and this is the reading of Al-Zuhri, and it is a description of the females, meaning: Do you witness their creation? The meaning of the verse is: reproach and the manifestation of the corruption of their minds, and their claim that it is devoid of evidence. This is analogous to the verse that rebuts the astrologers and the people of natural sciences, in His saying, the Most High: "I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth" [Al-Kahf: 51].

And the majority of the people read: "Their testimony will be written" with the raising of "testimony" and the action being built for the object. Al-A'raj, Ibn Abbas, Abu Ja'far, and Abu Haywah read: "We will write their testimony" with the plural pronoun, and "their testimony" in the accusative. A group read: "He will write" with the ya on the meaning: Allah will write their testimony in the accusative. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan read: "Their testimonies will be written" on the building of the action for the object and the plural of testimonies. And in His saying, the Most High: "And they will be asked": it is a clear warning, and "Do you witness" in this verse means: Were you present? And that is not from a testimony that carries the meanings that are required to be delivered.