سُوْرَةُ الإِسۡرَاءِ
Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 42
قُل لَّوْ كَانَ مَعَهُۥٓ ءَالِهَةٌ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذًا لَّٱبْتَغَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ سَبِيلًا ﴿42﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم to these polytheists, pagans): "If there had been other âlihah (gods) along with Him as they assert, then they would certainly have sought out a way to the Lord of the Throne (seeking His Pleasures and to be near to Him).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قُل
qul
Say
لَّوْ
law
If
كَانَ
kāna
(there) were
مَعَهُۥٓ
maʿahu
with Him
ءَالِهَةٌۭ
ālihatun
gods
كَمَا
kamā
as
يَقُولُونَ
yaqūlūna
they say
إِذًۭا
idhan
then
لَّٱبْتَغَوْا۟
la-ib'taghaw
surely they (would) have sought
إِلَىٰ
ilā
to
ذِى
dhī
(the) Owner
ٱلْعَرْشِ
l-ʿarshi
(of) the Throne
سَبِيلًۭا
sabīlan
a way
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.
42. 1. One meaning of this is that just as a king invades another king and gains dominance and power, in the same way, other deities would have found a way to overpower Allah. And this has not happened so far, even though centuries have passed while these deities have been worshipped, so this means that there is no deity except Allah, no one has authority except Him. The second meaning is that by now they would have attained nearness to Allah, and these polytheists who hold the belief that through them they attain nearness to Allah, they too would have been brought near to Allah by them.
