that you and your forefathers have named, for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow nothing but conjecture and what their souls desire, although guidance has come to them from their Lord.”

Up to His words:

“Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter give the angels female names.”

And the Exalted says:

“They have made some of His servants a part of Him.”

Some commentators explain “a part” as “a share and a portion.” Others say: “They have allotted Allah a share of offspring.” Qatādah and Muqātil explain it as “an equal.”

Both interpretations are correct, for they attribute offspring to Him, and a child resembles its father. Hence He says:

“Yet when one of them is given news of what he has set forth as a likeness of the Most Merciful, his face darkens.”

That is, daughters, as He says in the other verse:

“When one of them is given news of a daughter.”

Thus they have made a female a likeness of the Most Merciful and made some of His servants a part of Him, for a child is a part of its parent, as explained above. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Fātimah is but a part of me.”

Regarding His words:

“They have made the jinn partners with Allah, although He created them, and have falsely attributed sons and daughters to Him without knowledge.”

Al-Kalbī said: “This was revealed concerning the heretics. They said that Allah and Iblīs are partners: Allah is the creator of light, human beings, animals and livestock, while Iblīs is the creator of darkness, predatory beasts, snakes and scorpions.”

As for His words:

“They have claimed a kinship between Him and the jinn.”

One explanation is that this refers to their claim that the angels are Allah’s daughters. The angels are called jinn because they are concealed from sight. This is the view of Mujāhid and Qatādah. It is also said that they said of a group of angels called the jinn