سُوْرَةُ النَّجْمِ
Surah An-Najm (53) — Ayah 19
أَفَرَءَيْتُمُ ٱللَّـٰتَ وَٱلْعُزَّىٰ ﴿19﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Have you then considered Al-Lât, and Al-‘Uzzâ (two idols of the pagan Arabs)
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
أَفَرَءَيْتُمُ
afara-aytumu
So have you seen
ٱللَّـٰتَ
l-lāta
the Lat
وَٱلْعُزَّىٰ
wal-ʿuzā
and the Uzza
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 19 to 21) ➊ { اَفَرَءَيْتُمُ اللّٰتَ وَ الْعُزّٰى … :} In the previous verses, the steadfastness of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the straight path and the fact that every statement of his is dependent on the revelation of Allah Almighty was mentioned. Along with this, the power and greatness of the angel who taught him was mentioned, his descent on earth and near the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary in the heavens, and his coming very close to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to deliver the revelation, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) seeing him and other great signs of Allah Almighty were mentioned. All these things themselves manifest the greatness and power of Allah Almighty, His majesty, and His oneness, that when this is the state of His Messenger, His angels, and the countless signs on His earth and heavens, then how powerful must He Himself be. Therefore, at the same time, to draw attention to His oneness and to warn the polytheists of their foolishness, it is said that when you have heard and seen My powers, then have you also seen Lat and Uzza? Can it even be thought that these are deities or that they have any role in this magnificent universe? This style of expression is the utmost contempt and sarcasm towards these idols, just as if a very weak and disabled person were to claim to be a king, everyone would say, look at him, this is His Majesty the King.
➋ Tabari said: "The polytheists had made the names of their idols and shrines as feminine forms of the names of Allah Almighty. Thus, they added the feminine 'taa' to the word {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘} and made it {’’اَللَّاتُ‘‘}, just as for {’’عَمْرٌو‘‘} (masculine) they make {’’عَمْرَةٌ‘‘} (feminine), and for {’’عَبَّاسٌ‘‘} (masculine) they make {’’عَبَّاسَةٌ‘‘} (feminine), and from {’’عَزِيْزٌ‘‘} they made {’’عُزّٰي‘‘} (which is the feminine of {’’أَعَزُّ‘‘} comparative adjective)." Here is a question: how did the feminine of the word {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘} become {’’اَللَّاتُ‘‘}? The answer is that the word {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘} is originally {’’اَلْإِلٰهُ‘‘}, its feminine would be {’’اَلْإِلٰهَةُ‘‘}, but for ease, they made it {’’اَللَّاتُ‘‘}, and it is known that there is no fixed rule for ease. Shaykh Abdur Rahman Sa'di writes: "{’’مَنَاةٌ‘‘ ’’مَنَّانٌ‘‘} has been made feminine." Obviously, here too the rule of ease has been used.
Tabari said: "The polytheists had made the names of their idols as feminine forms of the names of Allah Almighty and claimed that these are the daughters of Allah Almighty. (Allah Almighty is far above this slander of theirs.) So Allah, Glorified be His praise, addressed them, saying: O those who call Lat, Uzza, and the third, another Manat, the daughters of Allah! {’’ اَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ ‘‘} Do you prefer sons for yourselves and dislike daughters, and {’’ وَ لَهُ الْاُنْثٰى ‘‘} assign daughters to Him, whom you do not like for yourselves in any way, rather you hate them so much that you bury them alive?"
➌ There is a difference in the recitation of {’’ اللّٰتَ ‘‘}. Most reciters read it without the doubling (shaddah) of the "taa," according to the meaning mentioned above, and some read it as {’’اَللاَّتُّ‘‘} (with the doubling of the "taa"), which is an active participle from {’’لَتَّ يَلُتُّ‘‘} (n), meaning to knead and mix. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: [ كَانَ اللاَّتُ رَجُلاً يَلُتُّ سَوِيْقَ الْحَاجِّ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ النجم : ۴۸۵۹ ] "Lat was a man who used to mix sawiq (barley meal) and give it to the pilgrims to drink." The first recitation is preferred because most reciters have read it this way, and also because Allah Almighty rebuked the polytheists for attributing daughters to Allah Almighty, whereas according to the second recitation, "Lat" was a man. One evidence for "Lat" being feminine is the long hadith of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah mentioned in Sahih Bukhari (2731, 2732), in which, when the representative of the disbelievers, Suhail bin Amr, said that you are a mixed group, if there is a battle you will run away, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [ اُمْصُصْ بَظْرَ اللاَّتِ أَنَحْنُ نَفِرُّ عَنْهُ ] "Suck the private part of Lat! Will we run away leaving him (the Prophet)?" Note that {’’بَظْرٌ‘‘} refers to a woman's private part.
➍ There were countless shrines of idols in Arabia. Allah Almighty mentioned these three among them because they were their most famous and greatest idols. The people of Makkah, Taif, Madinah, and most areas of Hijaz worshipped them the most. Lat was in Taif, and the Banu Thaqif were its worshippers and caretakers. Uzza was the special goddess of the Quraysh, whose shrine was at Nakhlah between Makkah and Taif. There, besides a building, there were also trees that were worshipped. The extent of its reverence among the Quraysh can be gauged from the hadith in Sahih Bukhari, in which, on the occasion of the Battle of Uhud, when the disbelievers managed to inflict some harm on the Muslims, Abu Sufyan climbed the mountain and proudly said: {’’ لَنَا الْعُزّٰی وَلاَ عُزّٰی لَكُمْ‘‘} (We have Uzza, you have no Uzza), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, reply to him: [ اَللّٰهُ مَوْلاَنَا وَلاَ مَوْلٰی لَكُمْ ] "Allah is our Protector, you have no protector." [ بخاري، الجہاد والسیر، باب ما یکرہ من التنازع… : ۳۰۳۹ ] The temple of Manat was near Qudayd, close to Mushallal on the shore of the Red Sea between Makkah and Madinah. [ دیکھیے بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ النجم : ۴۸۶۱ ] The Aws and Khazraj of Madinah and their allies used to worship it. All these idols had temples and regular priests and caretakers. Animals were brought and sacrificed at them just like at the Ka'bah. Ibn Kathir has, at this place, quoted in detail from the Seerah of Ibn Ishaq about the idols of Arabia: where they were, what their forms were, and which Companions demolished them. See this detail in his Tafsir.
➎ {وَ مَنٰوةَ الثَّالِثَةَ الْاُخْرٰى:} Here is a question: after saying {’’ الثَّالِثَةَ ‘‘} (the third), what was the need to say {’’ الْاُخْرٰى ‘‘} (another or the next one)? The answer is that among the polytheists, even the idols and goddesses had ranks; the status that Lat and Uzza had, Manat did not have. Mentioning it in these words was to show that its number is also third and after both of them according to your own ranking. This is also a great blow to polytheism, that what kind of deity is it that tolerates another deity, and multiple deities are content and happy with their own status—should the true deity be like this? Even among the idols of the time of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), this division existed, as He said: « فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذٰذًا اِلَّا كَبِيْرًا لَّهُمْ» [الأنبیاء : ۵۸] "So he broke them into pieces, except their biggest one."
➏ At this point, some commentators have narrated a report that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reached this verse, Satan caused these words to flow from his tongue: {’’تِلْكَ الْغَرَانِيْقُ الْعُلٰي وَ إِنَّ شَفَاعَتَهُنَّ لَتُرْتَجٰي‘‘} For the reality of this narration, see the commentary of Surah Al-Hajj, verse (52).
➋ Tabari said: "The polytheists had made the names of their idols and shrines as feminine forms of the names of Allah Almighty. Thus, they added the feminine 'taa' to the word {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘} and made it {’’اَللَّاتُ‘‘}, just as for {’’عَمْرٌو‘‘} (masculine) they make {’’عَمْرَةٌ‘‘} (feminine), and for {’’عَبَّاسٌ‘‘} (masculine) they make {’’عَبَّاسَةٌ‘‘} (feminine), and from {’’عَزِيْزٌ‘‘} they made {’’عُزّٰي‘‘} (which is the feminine of {’’أَعَزُّ‘‘} comparative adjective)." Here is a question: how did the feminine of the word {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘} become {’’اَللَّاتُ‘‘}? The answer is that the word {’’اَللّٰهُ‘‘} is originally {’’اَلْإِلٰهُ‘‘}, its feminine would be {’’اَلْإِلٰهَةُ‘‘}, but for ease, they made it {’’اَللَّاتُ‘‘}, and it is known that there is no fixed rule for ease. Shaykh Abdur Rahman Sa'di writes: "{’’مَنَاةٌ‘‘ ’’مَنَّانٌ‘‘} has been made feminine." Obviously, here too the rule of ease has been used.
Tabari said: "The polytheists had made the names of their idols as feminine forms of the names of Allah Almighty and claimed that these are the daughters of Allah Almighty. (Allah Almighty is far above this slander of theirs.) So Allah, Glorified be His praise, addressed them, saying: O those who call Lat, Uzza, and the third, another Manat, the daughters of Allah! {’’ اَلَكُمُ الذَّكَرُ ‘‘} Do you prefer sons for yourselves and dislike daughters, and {’’ وَ لَهُ الْاُنْثٰى ‘‘} assign daughters to Him, whom you do not like for yourselves in any way, rather you hate them so much that you bury them alive?"
➌ There is a difference in the recitation of {’’ اللّٰتَ ‘‘}. Most reciters read it without the doubling (shaddah) of the "taa," according to the meaning mentioned above, and some read it as {’’اَللاَّتُّ‘‘} (with the doubling of the "taa"), which is an active participle from {’’لَتَّ يَلُتُّ‘‘} (n), meaning to knead and mix. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: [ كَانَ اللاَّتُ رَجُلاً يَلُتُّ سَوِيْقَ الْحَاجِّ ] [ بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ النجم : ۴۸۵۹ ] "Lat was a man who used to mix sawiq (barley meal) and give it to the pilgrims to drink." The first recitation is preferred because most reciters have read it this way, and also because Allah Almighty rebuked the polytheists for attributing daughters to Allah Almighty, whereas according to the second recitation, "Lat" was a man. One evidence for "Lat" being feminine is the long hadith of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah mentioned in Sahih Bukhari (2731, 2732), in which, when the representative of the disbelievers, Suhail bin Amr, said that you are a mixed group, if there is a battle you will run away, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: [ اُمْصُصْ بَظْرَ اللاَّتِ أَنَحْنُ نَفِرُّ عَنْهُ ] "Suck the private part of Lat! Will we run away leaving him (the Prophet)?" Note that {’’بَظْرٌ‘‘} refers to a woman's private part.
➍ There were countless shrines of idols in Arabia. Allah Almighty mentioned these three among them because they were their most famous and greatest idols. The people of Makkah, Taif, Madinah, and most areas of Hijaz worshipped them the most. Lat was in Taif, and the Banu Thaqif were its worshippers and caretakers. Uzza was the special goddess of the Quraysh, whose shrine was at Nakhlah between Makkah and Taif. There, besides a building, there were also trees that were worshipped. The extent of its reverence among the Quraysh can be gauged from the hadith in Sahih Bukhari, in which, on the occasion of the Battle of Uhud, when the disbelievers managed to inflict some harm on the Muslims, Abu Sufyan climbed the mountain and proudly said: {’’ لَنَا الْعُزّٰی وَلاَ عُزّٰی لَكُمْ‘‘} (We have Uzza, you have no Uzza), so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, reply to him: [ اَللّٰهُ مَوْلاَنَا وَلاَ مَوْلٰی لَكُمْ ] "Allah is our Protector, you have no protector." [ بخاري، الجہاد والسیر، باب ما یکرہ من التنازع… : ۳۰۳۹ ] The temple of Manat was near Qudayd, close to Mushallal on the shore of the Red Sea between Makkah and Madinah. [ دیکھیے بخاري، التفسیر، سورۃ النجم : ۴۸۶۱ ] The Aws and Khazraj of Madinah and their allies used to worship it. All these idols had temples and regular priests and caretakers. Animals were brought and sacrificed at them just like at the Ka'bah. Ibn Kathir has, at this place, quoted in detail from the Seerah of Ibn Ishaq about the idols of Arabia: where they were, what their forms were, and which Companions demolished them. See this detail in his Tafsir.
➎ {وَ مَنٰوةَ الثَّالِثَةَ الْاُخْرٰى:} Here is a question: after saying {’’ الثَّالِثَةَ ‘‘} (the third), what was the need to say {’’ الْاُخْرٰى ‘‘} (another or the next one)? The answer is that among the polytheists, even the idols and goddesses had ranks; the status that Lat and Uzza had, Manat did not have. Mentioning it in these words was to show that its number is also third and after both of them according to your own ranking. This is also a great blow to polytheism, that what kind of deity is it that tolerates another deity, and multiple deities are content and happy with their own status—should the true deity be like this? Even among the idols of the time of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), this division existed, as He said: « فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذٰذًا اِلَّا كَبِيْرًا لَّهُمْ» [الأنبیاء : ۵۸] "So he broke them into pieces, except their biggest one."
➏ At this point, some commentators have narrated a report that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reached this verse, Satan caused these words to flow from his tongue: {’’تِلْكَ الْغَرَانِيْقُ الْعُلٰي وَ إِنَّ شَفَاعَتَهُنَّ لَتُرْتَجٰي‘‘} For the reality of this narration, see the commentary of Surah Al-Hajj, verse (52).
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).
