Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nahl Verse 57

Mufti Taqi Usmani

They ascribe daughters to Allah - Pure is He - and for themselves is what they desire!

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

And they attribute ˹angels as˺ daughters to Allah—glory be to Him!—the opposite of what they desire for themselves.

Ruwwad Translation Center

To Allah they ascribe daughters – glory be to Him – but for themselves they choose what they desire [sons].

A. J. Arberry

And they assign to God daughters; glory be to Him! -- and they have their desire;

Abdul Haleem

They assign daughters to God––may He be exalted!––and the [sons] they desire to themselves.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And they appoint for Allah daughters --hallowed be He! -- and for themselves that which they desire.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And they assign daughters for Allah! - Glory be to Him! - and for themselves (sons,- the issue) they desire!

Abul Ala Maududi

They assign daughters to Allah - glory be to Him - whereas they assign to themselves what they truly desire!

Ahmed Ali

They attribute daughters to God, the glorious, but for themselves whatsoever they please.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And they assign daughters to Allah – Purity is to Him! – and assign for themselves what they wish.

Ali Quli Qarai

And they attribute daughters to Allah—immaculate is He—while they will have what they desire!

Ali Ünal

And they assign daughters to God – All-Glorified is He (above having children) – and to themselves sons!

Amatul Rahman Omar

And they assign daughters to Allâh; Holy is He, whereas they (wish to) have for themselves what they desire.

English Literal

And they make/create/put to God the daughters, His praise/glory, and for them what they lust/desire/crave.

Faridul Haque

And they assign daughters to Allah - Purity is to Him! - and assign for themselves what they wish.

Hamid S. Aziz

They assign for Allah daughters - Glory be to Him - and for themselves they desire them not (or desire sons).

Hilali & Khan

And they assign daughters unto Allah! Glorified (and Exalted) be He above all that they associate with Him!. And unto themselves what they desire;

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And they set apart for what they know not, a portion of what we have given them. By Allah! you shall certainly be questioned about that which you forged.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And they ascribe daughters to Allah, glory be to Him; and for themselves (they would have) what they desire.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And they assign unto Allah daughters - Be He Glorified! - and unto themselves what they desire;

Muhammad Sarwar

They ascribe daughters to God, God is too Exalted to have daughters, but they can have whatever they want.

Qaribullah & Darwish

They ascribe daughters to Allah exaltations to Him! But they themselves would have what they desire!

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And they assign daughters to Allah! Glorified (and Exalted) is He (above all that they associate with Him!). And for themselves (they assign) what they desire;

Wahiduddin Khan

They assign daughters to God, glory be to Him!, but for themselves [sons] that they desire to have.

Talal Itani

And they attribute to God daughters—exalted is He—and for themselves what they desire.

Tafsir jalalayn

And they assign to God daughters, by claiming that the angels are the daughters of God -- Be He glorified! -- a declaration that He is [exalted] above that which they claim -- while they will have what they desire, namely, sons (the status of this sentence is either independent [nominative], or that of an [accusative] object of [the verb] yaj`alna, `they assign'). The meaning is that to Him they assign daughters, to whom they are averse, when [in any case] He is [exalted] beyond having offspring, while to themselves they assign sons, of their own choosing, so that the best is theirs exclusively -- like where God says, Now, ask them; are daughters to be for your Lord, while sons are to be for them? [Q. 37;149].

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلّهِ الْبَنَاتِ سُبْحَانَهُ

And they assign daughters unto Allah! Glorified (and Exalted) is He.

meaning, above their claims and fabrications.

أَلَا إِنَّهُم مِّنْ إِفْكِهِمْ لَيَقُولُونَ

وَلَدَ اللَّهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ

أَصْطَفَى الْبَنَاتِ عَلَى الْبَنِينَ

مَا لَكُمْ كَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ

But no! It is from their falsehood that they say;"Allah has begotten." They are certainly liars! Has He (then) chosen daughters rather than sons! What is the matter with you! How do you decide! (37;151-154)

وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ



And for themselves, what they desire;

meaning they choose the males for themselves, rejecting the daughters that they assign to Allah. Exalted be Allah far above what they say!
The Idolators' Abhorrence for Daughters

Allah tells