Surah 17

Surah 17:43

"Glory to Him! He is exalted a great height above what they say."
Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra', Verses 42-43 Verses 17:42-43
Show Full Scripture Context (17:42-43) — 2 Verses
Verse 42

قُل لَّوۡ كَانَ مَعَهُۥٓ ءَالِهَةٞ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذٗا لَّٱبۡتَغَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ ذِي ٱلۡعَرۡشِ سَبِيلٗا

Say: ‘If there were (other) gods with Him, as they say, they would indeed have sought a way to the Holder of the throne.’

Verse 43

سُبۡحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ عُلُوّٗا كَبِيرٗا

Glory to Him! He is exalted a great height above what they say.

42. Say: "If there had been other gods along with Him as they assert, then they would certainly have sought out a way to the Lord of the Throne."

43. Glorified and Exalted is He high above what they say!

Allah says: 'Say, O Muhammad, to these idolaters who claim that Allah has a partner among His creation, and who worship others besides Him that they may bring them nearer to Him: if the matter is as you say, and there is another god besides Him whom you worship in order to draw closer to Him and so that he will intercede for you with Him, then those whom you worship would themselves worship Him and seek means to draw closer to Him, So worship Him alone, just as those on whom you call besides Him worship Him. You have no need of a deity to be an intermediary between you and Him, for He does not like or accept that, rather He hates it and rejects it, and has forbidden that through all of His Messengers and Prophets.' Then He glorifies and sanctifies Himself far above all that, and says:

Glorified and Exalted is He high above what they say!

meaning these idolators who transgress and do wrong when they claim that there are other gods besides Him.

high above means, far above. He is Allah, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need. He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none comparable or coequal unto Him.

— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 6, Page 19)

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.