Taking a child (ittakhadha waladan)
ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَدًا
ittakhadha Allāhu waladan — Allah has taken a child
Across these verses the verb ittakhadha with the object waladan appears both as a human act (adopting Joseph and the infant in Pharaoh's house) and as a reported claim about God, which the verses themselves deny; reading the occurrences side by side shows the same expression used for ordinary adoption and for a theological assertion that is rejected.
The expression pairs the Form VIII verb ittakhadha ('to take for oneself') with walad ('child') as an indefinite accusative object. In the verses given it appears in three settings. First, as a human plan of adoption: the Egyptian who buys Joseph says of him 'we will take him as a child' (12:21), and the wife of Pharaoh says of the infant 'we will take him as a child' (28:9); in both the verb is first-person plural subjunctive with a 3MS pronoun suffix, and both are introduced by 'perhaps he will benefit us'. Second, as a reported saying attributed to unnamed speakers: 'Allah has taken a child' (2:116; 10:68; 18:4) and 'The All-Merciful has taken a child' (19:88; 21:26). Third, as direct denial: 'has not taken a child' (17:111; 25:2; 23:91; 72:3), 'It was never for Allah to take any child' (19:35), 'it does not befit the All-Merciful to take a child' (19:92), and the conditional 'If Allah had willed to take a child, He would surely have selected from what He creates whatever He wills' (39:4). The rejections come with adjacent grounds: ownership of what is in the heavens and the earth (2:116; 10:68), absence of partner in the dominion (17:111; 25:2), honored servants rather than children (21:26), and the argument from multiple gods (23:91). The human and divine uses share the same verb and the same object word, which lets the reader see the claim about God framed in the ordinary language of taking someone as a child.
Where it occurs
- 2:116 Reports the saying 'Allah has taken a child' and rejects it with 'Transcendent is He' and the claim that all in the heavens and earth are His.
- 10:68 Reports the same saying and rejects it with 'Far above is He', self-sufficiency, ownership of the heavens and earth, and the charge of speaking without knowledge or authority.
- 12:21 Uses the expression for a human plan: the Egyptian buyer says 'we will take him as a child' of Joseph.
- 17:111 Denies the act in jussive: 'who has not taken a child', paired with no partner in the dominion and no ally from lowliness.
- 18:4 States that warning is directed at 'those who said, Allah has taken [for Himself] a child'.
- 19:35 Denies the possibility: 'It was never for Allah to take any child', followed by the command 'Be'.
- 19:88 Reports the saying with 'The All-Merciful' as subject instead of 'Allah'.
- 19:92 Denies it as unbefitting: 'it does not befit the All-Merciful to take a child'.
- 21:26 Reports the saying and answers that those in question are 'honored servants'.
- 23:91 Denies it with a perfect verb and a partitive genitive object, then argues from the consequences of multiple gods.
- 25:2 Denies it in jussive within a description of the One holding the dominion of the heavens and earth, with no partner.
- 28:9 Uses the expression for a human plan: the wife of Pharaoh says 'we will take him as a child' of the infant.
- 39:4 Frames it as a counterfactual: had Allah willed to take a child, He would have selected from what He creates.
- 72:3 Denies it in a perfect verb: He 'has not taken a female companion nor a child'.
All Qur'anic expressions