Verse 18 of Surah Az-Zukhruf (“Or is one who is brought up in adornment while he is in clear dispute?” [Q. 43:18]) has elicited diverse and sometimes conflicting interpretations regarding women and their relation to God. Revealed in the context of the Qur’anic argument with polytheists about attributing “daughters” to God, the verse may initially appear to reproach women. However, considered alongside preceding and subsequent verses, it conveys a disputational and persuasive meaning. This study addresses whether the verse reports polytheists’ derogatory beliefs, comments on women’s intrinsic identity and value, or serves as an argumentative refutation of the claim of Banat Allah (daughters of God). The research aims for a comparative-critical analysis of verse 18 from Shia and Sunni exegetical perspectives, emphasizing hadith-based interpretations and clarifying the basis of their exegetical differences. The methodology is descriptive-analytical with a comparative approach, drawing on prominent Shia hadith-based exegeses, including Al-Qummi, Nur al-Thaqalayn, Al-Safi, Kanz al-Daqa’iq, and Majma‘ al-Bayan, and Sunni exegeses such as Al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Al-Jalalayn, and Al-Durr al-Manthur. Findings reveal three main interpretive approaches: reproach of women, disputational interpretation grounded in polytheists’ beliefs, and rejection of any negative judgment about women. Divergences arise primarily from attention to historical context, social setting, and the verse’s occasion of revelation. The study concludes that a context- and historically-oriented reading critiques the polytheists’ pre-Islamic logic rather than making ontological claims about women. Consequently, women’s human dignity is preserved, and natural gender differences are understood as complementary and non-derogatory.