The Heights (Al-A‘raf) الأعراف 195–198
195
أَلَهُمْ أَرْجُلٌ يَمْشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَيْدٍ يَبْطِشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا قُلِ ادْعُواْ شُرَكَاءكُمْ ثُمَّ كِيدُونِ فَلاَ تُنظِرُونِ
Have they feet to walk with? Have they hands to hold with? Have they eyes to see with? Have they ears to hear with? Say, ‘Call upon those you associate with God as partners, then all of you contrive against me and give me no respite.
196
إِنَّ وَلِيِّـيَ اللّهُ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْكِتَابَ وَهُوَ يَتَوَلَّى الصَّالِحِينَ
My protector is God who sent down the Book, for it is He who protects the righteous.
197
وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَكُمْ وَلآ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَنْصُرُونَ
Those whom you call on besides Him have no power to help you, nor can they help themselves.’
198
وَإِن تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَى لاَ يَسْمَعُواْ وَتَرَاهُمْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لاَ يُبْصِرُونَ
If you call them to the right path, they will not hear you. You find them looking towards you, but they do not see you.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
(a) But how surprising it is that in this world, where there are so many arguments in favour of one God, man makes polytheism his religion. By this miraculous harmony between two human beings, a child is born. Now some hold the belief that this has happened due to the blessing of some living or dead saint, some attribute it to certain supposed deities; some say that it was the result of some action and reaction between certain blind forces of matter, while others thought that it was the result of their own striving that had come to them in the shape of a beautiful baby. Behind the idols of stone or metal set up by polytheists is the ‘philosophy’ that these are external manifestations and in them their alleged god has become incarnate. By this token, the worship of these manifestations amounts to the worship of the god whom they are supposed to represent. However, at the level of the common people, polytheism takes the shape of people considering these idols themselves as holy. These idols are not capable of walking or talking or seeing or hearing, but superstitious man presumes they will be of use to him and will fulfil his needs. (a) However, this is not restricted only to known types of idols. This is the condition of all things—things which are given the status of objects of worship—from one’s native country and community to personalities, whether dead or alive, to whom those feelings are attached, whereas in reality, these feelings should be attached to the one and only God. All come into the same category (that is, it amounts to according them the status of God.) What is the reality of all these things? None has its own power; none of them has legs, hands or eyes of its own making. Every ‘leg-owner’ has been given a leg; if this limb is snatched away, he cannot make another leg again. Every ‘hand owner’ has been given a hand; if this hand does not remain with him, he cannot make another hand. Every ‘eye-owner’ has had an eye gifted to him; if this eye is lost, it is not possible for him to make another eye for himself. God alone is man’s Sustainer and Saviour. In this world He remains invisible but in the world of the Hereafter, He will reveal Himself, then man will see with his own eyes that it was God who alone was the provider and the sustainer of human beings. It was only because of his foolishness that he had attributed this to other supposed deities. These associates have no power of their own to take care even of themselves, so what can they do for others? It is God alone who helps His servants in this world and it is He who will also help His faithful servants in the world to come.