Transliteration:( Alaa lillaahid deenul khaalis; wallazeenat takhazoo min dooniheee awliyaaa'a maa na'buduhum illaa liyuqar riboonaaa ilal laahi zulfaa; innal laaha yahkumu baina hum fee maa hum feehi yakhtalifoon; innal laaha laa yahdee man huwa kaazibun kaffaar )
"Remember that sincere obedience [5] exclusively to Allah alone. And those who have taken protectors [6] other than Him say: 'We worship [7] them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah.' Certainly, Allah [8] will decide among them concerning that wherein they differ [9]. Surely, Allah does not guide him who is an ungrateful [10] liar."
The word "Deen" here refers to worship, highlighting that true and acceptable worship belongs to Allah alone. This means no one other than Allah is worthy of being worshipped, and even if worship is performed, it must be offered with sincerity—free of any association or ulterior motive.
Worship is only valid when done purely for Allah’s sake, not out of fear, show, or for gaining status or worldly benefit.
The term "protectors" in this verse refers to false deities—not the true saints or friends of Allah. These are idols and fabricated gods that the polytheists of Arabia used to depend upon.
This verse is a clear refutation of their belief. It emphasizes that true protection lies only with Allah, and assigning divine power or authority to others—no matter how minor—is a form of shirk (polytheism).
The polytheists used to say, “We do not worship these idols as creators or lords; we only use them to draw nearer to Allah.” This statement seems innocent but is still rejected by the Qur’an.
The key distinction is:
Using a means (wasilah) like good deeds or pious individuals to draw nearer to Allah is permissible, as confirmed in Surah 5: Verse 35.
However, worshipping that medium—treating it as a deity—is pure polytheism.
For example:
Prostrating towards the Ka'bah is an act of pure worship, directed to Allah.
Drinking Zamzam water with the intention of nearness to Allah is rewardable.
But in contrast:
Prostrating to an idol, or
Drinking the Ganges water out of reverence,
are both acts of polytheism.
This verse is specifically addressing infidels, and must not be applied to the Prophets, Saints, or believers who sincerely seek Allah.
Allah states that He will decide among them in the matter they differ upon. This has two implications:
It is infidelity to accept the enemies of Allah as intercessors or means to approach Him.
It is polytheism to worship these intermediaries, even if one considers Allah to be the ultimate God.
The polytheists assigned divine intercession to their idols, believing them to be “small gods” under the “big God.” But such belief is itself a clear form of shirk.
Allah’s decisive judgment will manifest on the Day of Judgment—believers will be entered into Paradise, while disbelievers will be thrown into Hell. Although Allah has already made the truth known in this world through revelation, the final enforcement of that decision will occur in the Hereafter.
The verse concludes by declaring that those who persist in disbelief and falsehood—described as “ungrateful liars”—will never receive divine guidance.
As long as an infidel remains firm in his disbelief, he is barred from being rightly guided, doing good deeds, or attaining Paradise. True guidance is a reward, and it is not given to those who reject the truth knowingly.
The tafsir of Surah Az-Zumar verse 3 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Zumar ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 4.
(39:3) Lo, religion is exclusively devoted to Allah.[4] Your religion is entirely consecrated to Him. As for those who have taken others than Allah for their guardians, (they say): “We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah.”[5] Allah will judge between them concerning what they differ about.[6] Verily Allah does not guide anyone who is given to sheer lying, is an utter unbeliever.[7]
4. This is an actual fact and reality, which has been presented as an argument for the above demand. It means: You should worship Allah, making deen exclusively His, for it is only Allah’s right that He should be obeyed and worshiped sincerely and exclusively. In other words, there is no one else who may deserve to be worshiped so that he also should be served and worshiped besides Allah and his commands and laws also obeyed. If a person serves someone else, apart from Allah, sincerely and exclusively, he does it wrong. Likewise, if he combines the worship of someone else with his worship of Allah, this also is against the truth. The best commentary of this verse is the Hadith which Ibn Marduyah has related from Yazid ar-Raqashi. He says: A person asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): We give away our wealth so that we become well-known. Shall we get a reward for this? The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: No. He asked: What, if one has the intention both of Allah’s reward and of reputation in the world? The Holy Prophet replied: Allah does not accept any deed unless it is performed exclusively for His sake. After this he recited this same verse.
5. The disbelievers of Makkah said and the polytheists the world over generally say the same: We do not worship other beings regarding them as our creators: the Creator is only Allah, and He alone is the real Deity; but He is too high for us to have access to Him. Therefore, we make these saintly beings a means to convey our prayers and our petitions to Allah.
6. One should understand it well that unity and concord is possible only through Tauhid: there can be no unity through shirk. The polytheists the world over have never agreed as to which beings are the definite means of access to Allah. Some people have taken some particular gods and goddesses as the means, but even among them there is no agreement on all the gods and goddesses; some others have taken the moon, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, etc. as the means, and they also are not agreed as to which of them holds what rank and which is the real means of approach to Allah. Some others have taken the dead saints as the means, but they also differ widely about them: one believes in one saint and another in another. The reason is that the belief about these different beings is neither based on any knowledge, nor has Allah ever sent down a list telling that such and such persons are His special favorites; therefore, they only should be made the means to have access to Him. This is a creed which has spread among the people only on account of superstitions and whims and blind imitation of the elders. Hence the differences.
7. Here, Allah has used two words for these people, kazib (liar) and kaffar (denier). They have been called kazib because they have falsely invented this creed by themselves, and then they spread falsehood among others. As for kaffar. it has two meanings: (1) A stubborn disbeliever, i.e. the people who insist on their false creed even after the doctrine of Tauhid has come before them. (2) Ungrateful for blessings, i.e. they arc receiving all kinds of blessings from Allah, but are thanking those other beings about whom they have assumed that these blessings are reaching them through their agency and influence.
[1339]- i.e., acceptable to Allāh is that none be associated with Him in worship and obedience.
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