He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they, from fear of Him, are apprehensive.
The Refutation of Those Who claim that the Angels are the Daughters of Allah; description of their Deeds and Status
Here Allah refutes those who claim that He has offspring among the angels -- exalted and sanctified be He. Some of the Arabs believed that the angels were the daughters of Allah, but Allah says:
سُبْحَانَهُ بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُّكْرَمُونَ
(Glory to Him! They are but honored servants.) meaning, the angels are servants of Allah who are honored by Him and who hold high positions of noble status. They obey Him to the utmost in all their words and deeds.
(They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His command.) meaning, they do not initiate any matter before Him or go against His commands; on the contrary, they hasten to do as He commands, and He encompasses them with His knowledge so that nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him.
لَا يَسْبِقُونَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ وَهُم بِأَمْرِهِ يَعْمَلُونَ (They do not precede Him in speech and only under His command they act. 21:27) This verse refutes the claim of pagans of Makkah that angels were daughters of Allah. How can angels be Allah's children when they stand in such awe in His presence that they neither initiate any talk nor act against His commands. They simply await His words and act accordingly. This also points towards an important etiquette of behaving in the company of elders. That is, when a matter is brought forth in front of a group of people, the people before speaking themselves first, should wait until the elder among such a group has spoken. Speaking prior to the elder is contrary to the manners governing respect of elders.
Tazkirul Quran
Maulana Wahiduddin KhanOn ayahs 25–28
The assumption of there being anyone worthy of worship other than God is not based on any real reasoning, but on total ignorance. Those who assign partners to God have no argument in support of their belief—neither is it based on human knowledge nor on divine revelation. On hearing arguments in favour of the oneness of God, they become evasive and turn their backs, not because of the firmness of their belief based on sound reasoning, but purely because of their prejudice. On account of their biased attitude, they have become so rigid in their belief that they are not prepared to give it up, in spite of its being untenable on the basis of reasoning.
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
![Surah Al-Anbya 21:28 in Arabic with its translation: “He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except on…”](/surah/al-anbya/28/image.jpg)