About (36:4): “Had Allah willed to take a child, He would have chosen whom He willed…”

Question:

Can you please explain the basic meaning of the Ayah below?

Surah 39 Ayah 4:

“Had Allah willed to take a child, He would have chosen whom He willed out of those whom He created. Glory to Him (He is above such things).”

Answer:

In English grammar we call the above sentence the third type of conditional sentences, which means the ‘main clause’ is impossible because of the ‘if clause’. This is like saying: “If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation.” That means that it was impossible for me to send her an invitation because I did not find her address. So, the message of the Ayah is to negate the possibility of any child for God, thus He says: Glory to Him.

Answered by: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei