Blind Following
\r\n Al-Kahf (The Cave) - Chapter 18: Verses 4-5
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"and that He may warn those who say, "God has taken a child." They have no knowledge thereof, nor do their fathers. A monstrous word it is that issues from their mouths. They speak naught but a lie."
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\r\n "To take a child" is a Quranic idiom meaning to assume special paternal responsibility for a child, to recognize a child, to take the child to oneself or into one's care. This wording choice criticizes not just the belief that God could somehow "beget" a child, but the idea that He would single any individual human being out for that special relationship (even through adoption, for example).
The Quran repeatedly rejects the notion that God has offspring of any kind, whether it be the idolatrous Makkan belief that the angels were God's daughters or various claims made by or attributed to Jews or Christians. Given that this is a Makkan surah, however, these verses are likely referring to the idolatrous belief regarding the angels.
\r\nThose who make such claims have no knowledge thereof, nor do their fathers, meaning that their claim derives not from knowledge, but from gross ignorance and blindly following the belief of their ancestors without exercising independent though. In the Quran, blindly following one's forefathers rather than using one's intelligence to discern the truth of the messages brought by the Prophets is presented and criticized as a common human tendency.
\r\nThat the claim that God has offspring is called monstrous expresses the moral gravity of this claim as well as the shock and surprise that such a claim should elicit. That the claim issues from their mouths emphasizes that it is something completely fabricated for which they have no valid source.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n "The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary" - Seyyed Hossein Nasr