Study the Quran

Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Al-Anbya 21:22

Word by word

لَوْ كَانَ فِيهِمَآ ءَالِهَةٌ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتَا ۚ فَسُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

Had there been within them [i.e., the heavens and earth] gods besides Allāh, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allāh, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

فقال ( لو كان فيهما آلهة ) أي : في السماء والأرض ، ( لفسدتا ) ، كقوله تعالى : ( ما اتخذ الله من ولد وما كان معه من إله إذا لذهب كل إله بما خلق ولعلا بعضهم على بعض سبحان الله عما يصفون ) [ المؤمنون : 91 ] ، وقال هاهنا : ( فسبحان الله رب العرش عما يصفون ) أي : عما يقولون إن له ولدا أو شريكا ، سبحانه وتعالى وتقدس وتنزه عن الذي يفترون ويأفكون علوا كبيرا .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.