Transliteration:( Qul ara’aytum shurakaaa’a kumul lazeena tad’oona min doonil laahi; aroonee maazaa khalaqoo minal ardi am lahum shirkun fis samaawaati am aatainaahum Kitaaban fahum ‘alaa baiyinatim minh; bal iny ya’iduz zaalimoona ba ‘duhum ba’dan illaa ghurooraa )
"Please declare: 'Well, ask your associate gods whom you worship [115] besides Allah. Show me what position [116] of the earth they have created, or have they any partnership (117) in the heavens or have We given them any Book so that they are on clear proofs (118) thereof? Not the least. What the unjust people promise to each other, is nothing except deceit (119).'"
This verse refers specifically to idols worshipped by the polytheists, not to the Prophets or saints of Allah Almighty. The polytheists of Arabia never believed in the Prophets or saints, so this is a clear refutation of their false gods.
The infidels recognized that Allah Almighty alone created the earth; they never attributed its creation to their idols. Hence, the question challenges them: What part of the earth’s creation did your idols have? This points out the irrationality of their worship.
This rejects any claim that these idols share in the creation or governance of the heavens. The idea that Allah Almighty needs assistance in creation is baseless. The verse distinguishes between obedience (which can be to various human figures) and worship, which is due only to Allah. Obedience might be given to prophets, saints, rulers, or parents, but worship is exclusively for Allah.
There is no divine scripture or rational proof that validates the truth of these false deities. They have no revealed books confirming their authority or existence.
The elders and leaders among the polytheists falsely assured the people that these idols would intercede for them before Allah. This deceit has been trusted by many, but it is nothing but empty hope and lies
40. Say: “Have you considered your partners whom you call upon besides Allah Show Me, what they have created of the earth. Or have they any share in the heavens Or have We given them a Book, so that they act on clear proof therefrom Nay, the wrongdoers promise one another nothing but delusions.” 41. Verily, Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one that could grasp them after Him. Truly, He is Ever Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.
Allah tells His Messenger to say to the idolators:
(Have you considered your partners whom you call upon besides Allah) the idols and rivals.
(Show Me what they have created of the earth. Or have they any share in the heavens) meaning, they have nothing at all of that, they do not possess even the membrane covering the stone of a date.
(Or have We given them a Book, so that they act on clear proof therefrom) meaning, `have We revealed to them a Book on which they base their Shirk and disbelief’ This is not the case at all.
(Nay, the wrongdoers promise one another nothing but delusions.) means, they are merely following their own whims, opinions and wishes which are their personal desires, and they are no more than misguidance and falsehood. Then Allah tells us of His mighty power, by which the heavens and the earth stand by His command, and the forces that He has placed between them to hold them. He says:
(Verily, Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places,) means, lest they should shift from where they are. This is like the Ayat:
(He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except by His leave) (22:65), and
(And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command) (30:25).
(and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one that could grasp them after Him.) means, no one can make them stay and preserve them except Him. He is Ever Most Forbearing and Oft-Forgiving because He sees His servants disbelieving in Him and disobeying Him, yet He is patient and gives them time, He waits and does not hasten the punishment, and He conceals the faults of others and forgives them. He says:
(Truly, He is Ever Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.)
(35:40) Say to them (O Prophet): “Have you ever seen those of your associates [66] upon whom you call apart from Allah? Show me what have they created in the earth? Or do they have any partnership (with Allah) in the heavens? Or have We given them a Book so that they have a clear proof (for associating others with Allah in His Divinity)?”[67] Nay, what these wrong-doers promise each other is nothing but delusion.[68]
66. “Associates of yours”, because they are not in fact the associates of Allah, but the ones whom the polytheists themselves have made associates of Allah.
67. That is, do they possess a written sanction from Us in which We might have indicated that We have given such and such persons the powers to heal the sick, or to get jobs for the jobless, or to fulfill needs of the needy, or that We have made such and such beings Our representatives in such and such parts of the earth and now it is in their hands to make or mar the destinies of the people of those parts; therefore, Our servants now should pray to them and present gifts and offerings before them, and for whatever blessings they receive they should thank those demigods only? If you possess any such sanction, produce it. And if you have no such sanction, you should consider on what grounds you have invented these polytheistic creeds and practices. When you are asked as to what sign is there in the heavens and the earth that may point to your self invented gods as being God’s associates, you cannot point out any. When you are asked to produce any divine sanction from any Book of Allah, or from your own possession, or from the possession of your self-invented gods, which may testify to God s having Himself delegated to them those powers which you assign to them, you do not produce any. What then is the basis of your these creeds and concepts? Are you the owners of the divine rights and powers that you may assign and distribute them to whomsoever you please?
68. That is, these religious guides, saints, priests, sorcerers, preachers and attendants of shrines and their agents are fooling the people for selfish motives, and are concocting stories to give them false hopes that if they became the followers of such and such personalities, apart from God, they would have all their wishes and needs fulfilled in the world, and all their sins, no matter-how grave and numerous, forgiven by Allah in the Hereafter.
[1254]- Understood to mean "Tell me about..." [1255]- By telling their followers that the so-called deities will intercede for them with Allāh.
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