أَيُشْرِكُونَ مَا لَا يَخْلُقُ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ
Do they associate with Him those who create nothing and they are [themselves] created?
Introduction
This is āyah 191 of Sūrat Al-A'raaf (The Heights), the 39th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 9. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 39 of 114
- Surah
- Al-A'raaf (7)
(He it is Who did create you from a single soul�) [7:189] up to (� but are themselves created) [7:191]. Said Mujahid: �Initially, all the children of Adam and Eve died in their infancy. And so, Satan whispered to them: 'If a boy is born to you, call him 'Abd al-Harith [the slave of al-Harith]'. The name of Satan was, prior to that, al-Harith. Adam and Eve did as he asked them to do, hence the words of Allah, exalted is He: (But when He gave unto them aright, they ascribed to Him partners in respect of that which He had given them�)�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.