Surat Az-Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold)
- flag
وَقَالُوا أَآلِهَتُنَا خَيْرٌ أَمْ هُوَ ۚ مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلَّا جَدَلًا ۚ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ
- subtitles
Waqaloo aalihatunakhayrun am huwa ma daraboohu laka illajadalan bal hum qawmun khasimoon
-
And they said, "Are our gods better, or is he?" They did not present the comparison except for [mere] argument. But, [in fact], they are a people prone to dispute.
-
-
In verse 45 above, it was said: "You may ask all other Messengers whom We sent before you whether We had appointed any other gods to be worshiped beside the Merciful God." When this discourse was being presented before the people of Makkah, a person called `Abdullah ibn az-Ziba'ra in the traditions, put forward the objection: "Well, is it not a fact that the Christians regard the son of Mary as the son of God and worship him ? What is then wrong with our gods?" This caused much laughter among the crowd of the disbelievers and they started clamoring for an answer to this objection. But at this foolish behavior, the continuity of the revelation was not broken, but was first completed and then the objection of the questioner was taken up. (It should be borne in mind that this incident has been reported in the books of commentaries in different ways which contain great variations, but after a study of the context and the traditions the real incident in our view is the same as we have mentioned above).
- personNote: Please note that, we have used PDF OCR technology to scan and convert text from scanned docuement. Expect few broken words in this section. We are trying our level best to fix these errors Insha Allah. If you want to volunteer in this task, please contact us at engage @ kdakw.com.
In al-Kashshaf. a commentary on the Qur'an, al-ZamakhsharI gives a broadly similar report, without mentioning its source. Both reports show clearly how argumentative the pagan Arabs were. They were exactly as the Qur'an describes them: "They are contentious people". (Verse 58) They were certainly skilful in dispute. They realized what the Qur'an and the Prophet meant, but they tried hard to twist its meaning, indulged in polemics, exploiting the fact that the Qur'anic statement was general in its implication. This is characteristic of everyone who is devoid of sincerity, seeking to manipulate words and phrases in order to twist what was a clear meaning. Therefore, the Prophet strictly prohibited contentious arguments. Abu Umamah, a Companion of the Prophet, reports: "The Prophet came out once only to find some people involved in argument concerning the Qur'an. He was so angry that he looked as though vinegar had been poured over his face. He then said to them: 'Do not argue about God's book citing parts of it against other parts. No community strays into error unless they are given to contentious argument.' He then quoted the Qur'anic verse that says: "They cite him only to challenge you. They are contentious people." (Verse 58)
Another possible interpretation of the statement, "Who is better: our deities or he?'' is supported by the general drift of the verses referring to their legend about the angels. What they meant is that their worship of the angels is better than the Christians' worship of Jesus, because the angels are closer to God in their nature and descent. Exalted is God above all that they allege. Thus, the statement, 'They cite him only to challenge you. They are contentious people', serves as a reply to Ibn al Ziba'ri as suggested earlier. Moreover, it means that their citing of what the Christians worship is invalid, because it deviates from the truth of God's oneness. It is not right to compare one deviation from the truth with another; they are all false. This interpretation is reasonable.
- filter_vintage
Then Allah said:
﴿مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلاَّ جَدَلاَ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ﴾(They quoted not the above example except for argument. Nay! But they are a quarrelsome people).''﴿وَقَالُواْ ءَأَالِهَتُنَا خَيْرٌ أَمْ هُوَ﴾(And say: "Are our gods better or is he''). Qatadah said, "They were saying, `our gods are better than him'.'' Qatadah said; "Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, recited it (أَآلِهَتُنَا خَيْرٌ أَمْ هذَا) (Are our gods better or is this (person))'' they mean Muhammad .﴿مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلاَّ جَدَلاَ﴾(They quoted not the above example except for argument.) means, for the sake of stubborn argument, for they knew that he (`Isa ) was not included in the Ayah (21:98), because that would not make sense. The words,﴿إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ﴾(Certainly you and that which you are worshipping now besides Allah, are (but) fuel for Hell!) (21:98) are addressed to the Quraysh, for they used to worship idols and false gods -- they did not worship the Messiah so why should he be included in what the Ayah says What they said was only for the sake of argument; they did not really believe in it. Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, recorded that Abu Umamah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah said:«مَا ضَلَّ قَوْمٌ بَعْدَ هُدًى كَانُوا عَلَيْهِ، إِلَّا أُوْرِثُوا الْجَدَل»g(No people go astray after having been guided, but they resort to (futile) argument.) Then the Messenger of Allah recited this Ayah:﴿مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلاَّ جَدَلاَ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ﴾(They quoted not the above example except for argument. Nay! But they are a quarrelsome people).'' It was also recorded by At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ibn Jarir. At-Tirmidhi said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih, we do not know it except from the Hadith of Hajjaj bin Dinar...''