Transliteration:( Falaw laa nasarahumul lazeenat takhazoo min doonil laahi qurbaanan aalihatam bal dalloo 'anhum' wa zaalika ifkuhum wa maa kaanoo yaftaroon )
Why, did those gods then not help them whom they had taken for worship instead of Allah [79]? In fact, they strayed away from them. That was the result of their lies [80] and fabrications.
The polytheists used to say that these were lesser deities, while Allah is the Supreme God. They believed worshipping idols would bring them closer to Allah, and that if Allah became displeased, these idols would intercede on their behalf.
Allah Almighty refutes this logic, saying: If they were truly divine or had any power, why didn't they save their worshippers from punishment?
This verse is not about the Prophets or Saints, but about false gods whom the polytheists treated as objects of worship.
To believe in Allah’s beloved servants as means of approach (wasilah) is a sign of faith, not shirk. Allah Himself says: “And seek the means of approach to Him” (Surah Al-Ma’idah: 35).
Such pious souls are a source of help by Allah’s will—especially on the Day of Judgement, when intercession will be sought.
To take enemies of Allah—idols, false deities—as intercessors or helpers is outright kufr (infidelity).
However, recognizing the friends of Allah as intercessors and means of drawing nearer to Him is core to Islamic belief.
Consider: prostration towards the Ka'bah and reverence for Zamzam are acts of faith, but prostration before idols or revering pagan rituals (like worshipping the Ganges) are acts of polytheism.
Therefore, applying this verse to Prophets and Saints is a gross misunderstanding of its true intent.
The tafsir of Surah Ahqaf verse 28 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Ahqaf ayat 26 which provides the complete commentary from verse 26 through 28.
(46:28) So why did those whom they had set up as gods apart from Allah, hoping that they would bring them nearer to Him, not come to their aid?[32] Instead, they failed them. This was the end of the lie they had fabricated and the false beliefs they had invented.
32. That is, they had put faith in those things in the beginning with the idea that they were favorite servants of God and through them they would attain nearness to Him, but then gradually they made them their gods. They started invoking them for help; they formed the belief that they had the powers to change their destinies and could answer their prayers and remove their hardships. To deliver them from this error Allah sent His revelations through His Messengers over and over again in different ways to bring them to the right path, but they persisted in the worship of their gods, and continued to insist that they would still invoke them instead of Allah. Now consider this: When the torment of Allah visited these polytheists because of their deviation, where had their redressers of grievances and removers of hardships disappeared? Why didn’t they come to their rescue at the time of affliction?
[1487]- According to their claim.
For a faster and smoother experience,
install our mobile app now.
Related Ayat(Verses)/Topics