Transliteration:( Yad'oo laman darruhooo aqrabu min naf'ih; labi'salmawlaa wa labi'sal 'asheer )
"They worship such that whose harm is more [32] expected than their benefit. No doubt, what an evil patron and no doubt what an evil comrade!"
This verse emphasizes that these idols or false gods bring real harm—like worldly loss and Hell in the Hereafter—while any benefit is purely imagined, such as false hopes of intercession.
Their harm is near and certain, while their benefit is distant and unreal.
This does not contradict the previous verse stating they can’t benefit or harm, because this verse speaks of the actual harmful consequences of idol worship—not of any true power in the idols themselves.
Thus, they are indeed evil patrons and evil companions.
The tafsir of Surah Al-Hajj verse 13 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Hajj ayat 11 which provides the complete commentary from verse 11 through 13.
(22:13) He invokes those that are more likely to cause him harm than benefit.[18] Such is surely an evil patron, and an evil associate.[19]
18. (Surah Al-Hajj, ayat 12-13) clarify two things about the deities whom the mushriks invoke. Firstly, they can do a person neither any good nor any harm. Nay, it is more probable that they do harm rather than good. For when the mushrik invokes other deities than Allah, he loses his faith forthwith. Secondly, the mushrik himself knows that there is no guarantee or probability of any good from his god who is utterly helpless and powerless. As regards to the occasional grant of his request through his god, this is done by Allah merely to test his faith.
19. That is, the one, who leads a person to the way of shirk is the worst guardian and the worst comrade, whether he be a human being or a satan.
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