What does Quran 16:57 mean?

Quran 16:57 (Surah An-Nahl, Ayah 57) translates to: "And they attribute to Allah daughters - exalted is He - and for them is what they desire."

Which Surah and Juz is Quran 16:57 from?

This ayah is from Surah An-Nahl (The Bee), the 16th surah of the Quran. It appears in Juz 14.

Are there hadiths related to Quran 16:57?

Yes — there are 5 hadiths related to this ayah from Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, Sahih Muslim.

What tafsir is available for Quran 16:57?

Commentary on this ayah is available from Ibn Kathir, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas, Al-Jalalayn — classical scholars of Quranic exegesis.

Ayah 56

وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ نَصِيبًۭا مِّم...

16:57An-Nahl

Q: What topics does Quran 16:57 relate to?

This ayah connects to these Quranic topics: Allah, Shirk (Associating Partners with Allah), Idolatry, Divine Transcendence, Divine Provision.

Ayah 58

وَإِذَا بُشِّرَ أَحَدُهُم بِٱلْأُنثَىٰ ظَلَّ وَجْه...

وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ ٱلْبَنَٰتِ سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ ۙ وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ

Wa yaj'aloona lillaahil banaati Subhaanahoo wa lahum maa yashtahoon

And they attribute to Allah daughters - exalted is He - and for them is what they desire.

Themes in this ayah

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Oneness of Allah79

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Oneness of Allah

16:57Ayah 1128

17 ayahs in An-Nahl are strongly about the oneness of Allah. This is one of them.

← Previous on Oneness of Allah16:52And to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him is [due] worship constantly. Then is it other than Allah that you fear?Next on Oneness of Allah →16:73And they worship besides Allah that which does not possess for them [the power of] provision from the heavens and the earth at all, and [in fact],

Tafsir

Scholars largely agree on this ayah

View Full Tafsir: Al-Jalalayn on 16:57→

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‘alūna ‘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. 37149.

Messenger of Allah said:"Whoever is tried with something from daughters, and he is patient with them, they will be a barrier from the Fire for him."

Jami` at-Tirmidhi #1984Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri narrated that :Da'if

the Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever has three daughters, or three sisters, or two daughters, or two sisters and he keeps good company with them and fears Allah regarding them, then Paradise is for him.

Sunan Ibn Majah #3405Uqbah bin Amir said, I heard the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) say:Da'if

"Whoever has three daughters and is patient towards them, and feeds them, gives them to drink, and clothes them from his wealth; they will be a shield for him from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.'"

Sunan Ibn Majah #3406It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said:Da'if

"There is no man whose two daughters reach the age of puberty and he treats them kindly for the time they are together, but they will gain him admittance to Paradise."

Sahih Muslim #6530'A'isha, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ), said:Sahih

A woman came to me along with her two daughters. She asked me for (charity) but she found nothing with me except one date, so I gave her that. She accepted it and then divided it between her two daughters and herself ate nothing out of that. She then got up and went out, and so did her two daughters. (In the meanwhile) Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) visited me and I narrated to him her story. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: He who is involved (in the responsibility) of (bringing up) daughters, and he accords benevolent treatment towards them, there would be protection for him against Hell-Fire.