Surah 25 Al-Furqaan — Ayah 3
وَٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ ءَالِهَةًۭ لَّا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ وَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ لِأَنفُسِهِمْ ضَرًّۭا وَلَا نَفْعًۭا وَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ مَوْتًۭا وَلَا حَيَوٰةًۭ وَلَا نُشُورًۭا
Waxay ka Yeesheen Eebe ka Sokow Ilaahyo oon Abuurayn waxba Iyagana la Abuuri una hananayn Naftooda Dhib iyo Nacfi (Midna) oonan hananayn Geeri iyo Nolol iyo soo Bixin (midna).
wa-ittakhadhū min dūnihi ālihatan lā yakhluqūna shayan wahum yukh'laqūna walā yamlikūna li-anfusihim ḍarran walā nafʿan walā yamlikūna mawtan walā ḥayatan walā nushūran
Word by word
- وَٱتَّخَذُوا۟ wa-ittakhadhū Yet they have taken
- مِن min besides Him
- دُونِهِۦٓ dūnihi besides Him
- ءَالِهَةًۭ ālihatan gods
- لَّا lā not
- يَخْلُقُونَ yakhluqūna they create
- شَيْـًۭٔا shayan anything
- وَهُمْ wahum while they
- يُخْلَقُونَ yukh'laqūna are created
- وَلَا walā and not
- يَمْلِكُونَ yamlikūna they possess
- لِأَنفُسِهِمْ li-anfusihim for themselves
- ضَرًّۭا ḍarran any harm
- وَلَا walā and not
- نَفْعًۭا nafʿan any benefit
- وَلَا walā and not
- يَمْلِكُونَ yamlikūna they control
- مَوْتًۭا mawtan death
- وَلَا walā and not
- حَيَوٰةًۭ ḥayatan life
- وَلَا walā and not
- نُشُورًۭا nushūran resurrection
Tafsir · Ibn Kathir (Abridged)
The Foolishness of the Idolators
Allah tells us of the ignorance of the idolators in taking other gods instead of Allah, the Creator of all things, the One Who controls the affairs of all things; whatever He wills happens and whatever He does not will does not happen. In spite of that, they still worshipped others besides Him, idols who could not even create the wing of a gnat, but were themselves created. They could neither do harm nor bring benefit to themselves, so how could they do anything for their worshippers
(and possess no power (of causing) death, nor (of giving) life, nor of raising the dead.) means, they could not do any of that at all; that power belongs only to Allah, Who is the One Who gives life and death, and is the One Who will bring all people, the first and the last, back to life on the Day of Resurrection.
(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as (the creation and resurrection of) a single person) (31:28). This is like the Ayat;
(And Our commandment is but one as the twinkling of an eye.) (54:50)
(But it will be only a single Zajrah. When behold, they find themselves on the surface of the earth alive after their death.) (79:13-14)
(It will be a single Zajrah, and behold, they will be staring!) (37:19)
(It will be but a single Sayhah, so behold they will all be brought up before Us!) (36:53). He is Allah besides Whom there is no other God and besides Whom there is no other Lord. No one should be worshipped except Him because whatever He wills happens and whatever he does not will does not happen. He has no offspring nor progenitor, nor equal nor likeness nor rival nor peer. He is the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.