Surah Yunus (10) — Ayah 106

(Ayah 106) ➊ {وَ لَا تَدْعُ مِنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ مَا لَا يَنْفَعُكَ وَ لَا يَضُرُّكَ:} In this, every living or dead being of the earth and heavens, and every animate or inanimate thing, except Allah, is included. This does not mean that first a false belief should be established about the grave of some saint or prophet that it can bring benefit or harm, then prostrations should be made to it and wishes should be sought from it, and it should be said that we are calling upon those who possess the power to benefit or harm. To interpret this verse in such a way is to play with the Book of Allah and to mock it. The clear meaning of this verse is to make the polytheists understand that all kinds of power to benefit or harm are in the hands of Allah. (Fath al-Qadeer) In the next verse, this is also explicitly stated. Here, although the Prophet (peace be upon him) is forbidden from calling upon other than Allah, in reality, the entire Ummah is forbidden from this, because forbidding a person who has neither done such an act nor will ever do it, means to emphasize the prohibition for others, as Allah Almighty has said: «{ وَ لَقَدْ اُوْحِيَ اِلَيْكَ وَ اِلَى الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَىِٕنْ اَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَ لَتَكُوْنَنَّ مِنَ الْخٰسِرِيْنَ }» [ الزمر : ۶۵ ] "And indeed, it has been revealed to you and to those before you: If you associate partners (with Allah), surely your deeds will become worthless and you will surely be among the losers."

➋ {فَاِنْ فَعَلْتَ فَاِنَّكَ اِذًا مِّنَ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ:} Because there is no injustice equal to shirk, as He said: «{ اِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيْمٌ }» [لقمان : ۱۳] "Indeed, shirk is surely a great injustice." The meaning of injustice is: {’’وَضْعُ الشَّيْءِ فِيْ غَيْرِ مَحَلِّهٖ ‘‘} to use something out of place and in the wrong context. So what could be a greater injustice and unfairness than giving worship, which is the exclusive right of the Creator, to any creature? Here, "if you do so" means that if you call upon one who can neither benefit nor harm you, then you will be among the wrongdoers. This subject has been mentioned in several verses of the Noble Qur'an, that no one besides Allah possesses any power to benefit or harm. See Surah An-Naml (62), Al-Ma'idah (76), and Saba (22), and there are many other verses as well.

16. 1. That is, if you call upon such deities besides Allah who are not capable of bringing benefit or harm to anyone, then this will be committing an act of injustice. Since worship is only the right of Allah, who has created the entire universe and also creates all the means of life, then to leave this being who is deserving of worship and worship someone else is extremely wrong. That is why shirk has been described as a great injustice. Here too, although the address is to the Prophet ﷺ, the real addressees are human beings and the Ummah of Muhammad.

And do not call upon anyone besides Allah, who can neither benefit you nor harm you. If you do so, then surely you will be among the wrongdoers [114].

[114]
The Commonly Understood Definition of a Polytheist: Considering Someone as Fulfiller of Needs and Remover of Difficulties:

Whenever a person calls upon any being or deity, his intentions can only be of two types: either he calls for something from which he can gain some benefit, such as asking for children or sustenance, or he calls for something through which some calamity or hardship can be removed from him. In common terminology, these two intentions are called seeking benefit and averting harm, or in simpler words, fulfillment of needs and removal of difficulties. Calling upon anyone other than Allah for either of these purposes is itself worship of that being, and there are countless evidences for this in the Book and Sunnah. And this is the greatest form of shirk or the gravest injustice.