سُورَةُ الأَعۡرَافِ
Reading Tafsir al-Jalalayn (second English edition) by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Ayahs 191–200 of 206
أَيُشْرِكُونَ مَا لَا يَخْلُقُ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ
Do they associate with Him those who create nothing and they are [themselves] created?
Do they associate, with Him, in worship, those who cannot create anything, but are themselves created,
وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ لَهُمْ نَصْرًۭا وَلَآ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَنصُرُونَ
And the false deities are unable to [give] them help, nor can they help themselves.
and who are not able to give them, that is, those who worship them, any help, nor can they help themselves?, by defending themselves against someone intending to damage them, by breaking them or otherwise (the interrogative is meant as a rebuke).
وَإِن تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ لَا يَتَّبِعُوكُمْ ۚ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْكُمْ أَدَعَوْتُمُوهُمْ أَمْ أَنتُمْ صَٰمِتُونَ
And if you [believers] invite them to guidance, they will not follow you. It is all the same for you whether you invite them or you are silent.
And if you call them, that is, the idols, to guidance, they will not follow you (read yatba‘ūkum or yattabi‘ūkum). It will be the same [response] for you, whether you call them, to it, or whether you are silent, [refraining] from calling them, they will not follow it, because they cannot hear.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ ۖ فَٱدْعُوهُمْ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ
Indeed, those you [polytheists] call upon besides Allah are servants like you. So call upon them and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful.
Truly those on whom you call, [whom] you worship, besides God are servants, owned, like you; call them then and let them answer you, your call, if you are truthful, in [claiming] that they are gods: God then illustrates their utter incapacity and the superiority which their worshippers possess over them, saying:
أَلَهُمْ أَرْجُلٌۭ يَمْشُونَ بِهَآ ۖ أَمْ لَهُمْ أَيْدٍۢ يَبْطِشُونَ بِهَآ ۖ أَمْ لَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌۭ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَآ ۖ أَمْ لَهُمْ ءَاذَانٌۭ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا ۗ قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ شُرَكَآءَكُمْ ثُمَّ كِيدُونِ فَلَا تُنظِرُونِ
Do they have feet by which they walk? Or do they have hands by which they strike? Or do they have eyes by which they see? Or do they have ears by which they hear? Say, [O Muhammad], "Call your 'partners' and then conspire against me and give me no respite.
Have they feet wherewith they walk or, indeed, have they hands (aydin is the plural of yad) wherewith they can grasp or, indeed, have they eyes wherewith they can see or, indeed, have they ears wherewith they give ear? (an interrogative of rejection), in other words, they have none of these things, which you have, so why do you worship them when you are more complete in being than they are? Say, to them, O Muhammad (s): ‘Call upon your associates, to destroy me; then scheme against me, and waste no time, [do not] give me any respite, for I am not concerned with you.
إِنَّ وَلِۦِّىَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى نَزَّلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ ۖ وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ
Indeed, my protector is Allah, who has sent down the Book; and He is an ally to the righteous.
Truly my Protector, the One in charge of my affairs, is God Who reveals the Book, the Qur’ān, and He takes charge of the righteous, by protecting them.
وَٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَكُمْ وَلَآ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَنصُرُونَ
And those you call upon besides Him are unable to help you, nor can they help themselves."
And as for those on whom you call besides God, they have no power to help you, nor can they help themselves’, so why should I be concerned with them?
وَإِن تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْهُدَىٰ لَا يَسْمَعُوا۟ ۖ وَتَرَىٰهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ
And if you invite them to guidance, they do not hear; and you see them looking at you while they do not see.
And if you call upon them, that is, the idols, to guidance, they do not hear; and you see them, that is, the idols, O Muhammad (s), staring at you, looking toward you, as a person looks, but they do not perceive.
خُذِ ٱلْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ ٱلْجَٰهِلِينَ
Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant.
Indulge [people] with forgiveness, [accepting] what issues spontaneously from people’s manners [of behaviour], and do not scrutinise them, and enjoin kindness, decency, and turn away from the ignorant, and do not counter their stupidity with the like.
وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ نَزْغٌۭ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Satan, then seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing.
And if (immā: the letter nūn of the conditional particle in, ‘if’, has been assimilated with the extra mā, ‘any’) any insinuation from Satan should provoke you, that is, if anything should turn you away from that which you have been commanded to do, then, seek refuge in God (fa’sta‘idh bi’Llāh is the response to the conditional clause, with the response to the command being omitted), and He will ward it off from you, He is Hearing, of what is said, Seeing, of what is done.
Commentary: Tafsir al-Jalalayn (second English edition) by Jalal al-Din al-Mahalli & Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.
