“Had We wished to take a diversion, We could have taken it from Our own presence, had We ever intended to do so. (17) Rather, We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes it, and then it vanishes away. Woe to you for what you attribute! (18) To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth. Those who are with Him do not disdain His worship, nor do they grow weary. (19) They glorify Him night and day, without slackening. (20)”
Regarding His words, “Had We wished to take a diversion,” scholars differed over the meaning of “diversion.” Ibn Abbas, in the narration of Ata, said: “It means a woman.” This was also the view of al-Hasan and Qatadah. In the narration of al-Kalbi, Ibn Abbas said: “It means a child,” which was also the view of al-Suddi. The first interpretation, referring to a woman, is more apparent, because sexual intercourse is called diversion in the language, and a woman is the object of intercourse.
“We could have taken it from Our own presence”: that is, from among the wide-eyed maidens with Us, not from among you, the people of the earth. It was also said that its meaning is: had this been possible in His description, He would not have taken it in a manner visible to them; rather, He would have concealed it so that they would not become aware of it.
The interpretation of the verse is that, when the Christians said concerning the Messiah and his mother what they said, Allah refuted them with this, saying, “We could have taken it from Our own presence,” because you know that a man’s child and wife are with him, not with someone else.
“Had We ever intended to do so”: Qatadah, Muqatil, and Ibn Jurayj said that the expression means negation: “We would never have done so.” It was also said that it is conditional: if We had been among those who do such a thing, We would have taken it from Our own presence; but We did not do so, because it is not befitting of lordship.
“Rather”: that is, leave aside what they have said, for it is false and untrue. “We hurl” means: We cast and unleash. “The truth” means faith, “against falsehood,” meaning unbelief. It was also said that the truth is Allah’s statement that He has no child, while falsehood is their statement, “Allah has taken a child.” “And it crushes it”: that is, it destroys it. The original meaning of crushing is to strike the head open until the blow reaches the brain. “And then it vanishes away”: that is, it departs. The meaning is: We nullify their lie by clarifying the truth, until it is obliterated and disappears.
Then He warned them for their lie, saying, “Woe to you,” O company of unbelievers, “for what you attribute”—that is, for attributing to Allah what is not befitting of Him, such as a consort and a child. Mujahid said: “For the lies you tell.”
“To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth,” as His servants and possessions. “Those who are with Him” means the angels. “They do not disdain His worship”: they do not regard His worship beneath them, nor do they consider themselves too great for it. “Nor do they grow weary”: they do not become exhausted. It is said that one becomes weary when one is tired and fatigued. Al-Suddi said: “They do not deem themselves too great (1) for worship.”
“They glorify Him night and day, without slackening”: they neither weaken nor grow weary. Kaʿb al-Aḥbār said: “Glorification...”