Denouncing the Worship of anything besides Allah
Ayahs Covered
سُورَةُ النَّحۡلِ
An-Nahl (The Bee)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
2 ayahs
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ رِزْقًۭا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ
And they worship besides Allah that which does not possess for them [the power of] provision from the heavens and the earth at all, and [in fact], they are unable.
فَلَا تَضْرِبُوا۟ لِلَّهِ ٱلْأَمْثَالَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
So do not assert similarities to Allah. Indeed, Allah knows and you do not know.
Common Words
25 total22 unique3 repeated
من2x
ٱلله2x
لا2x
ويعبدون1x
دون1x
ما1x
يملك1x
لهم1x
رزقا1x
ٱلسموت1x
وٱلأرض1x
شيـا1x
ولا1x
يستطيعون1x
فلا1x
تضربوا1x
لله1x
ٱلأمثال1x
إن1x
يعلم1x
Other Scholars on These Ayahs
And they worship besides God that is other than Him what has no power to give them any sort of provision from the heavens such as water and the earth such as plants shay’an ‘anything’ is a substitute ...
So do not strike any similitude for God do not ascribe to God likenesses and then associate them with Him in power. Truly God knows that there is nothing like Him and you do not know this.
Ibn Kathir Commentary
Related Tafsir
Denouncing the Worship of anything besides Allah
Allah tells us about the Mushrikin who worship others besides Him, even though He alone is the bountiful Provider, the Creator and Sustainer, without partners or associates, but they still worship idols and make rivals for Him. He says:
مَا لاَ يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ رِزْقًا مِّنَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ شَيْئًا
(such as do not have power to grant them any provision from the heavens or the earth) meaning, nobody can cause rain to fall, or make plants and trees grow. They cannot do these things for them- selves, even if they wanted to. Thus Allah says:
فَلاَ تَضْرِبُواْ لِلَّهِ الاٌّمْثَالَ
(So do not give examples on behalf of Allah.) meaning, do not set up rivals to Him or describe anything as being like Him.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
(Truly, Allah knows and you know not.) meaning, He knows and bears witness that there is no god but Him, but you are ignorant and associate others in worship with Him.