سُوْرَةُ الإِسۡرَاءِ
Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 56
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ ٱلضُّرِّ عَنكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا ﴿56﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم): "Call upon those - besides Him - whom you pretend [to be gods like angels, ‘Îsâ (Jesus), ‘Uzair (Ezra), and others.]. They have neither the power to remove the adversity from you nor even to shift it from you to another person."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قُلِ
quli
Say
ٱدْعُوا۟
id'ʿū
Call
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those whom
زَعَمْتُم
zaʿamtum
you claimed
مِّن
min
besides Him
دُونِهِۦ
dūnihi
besides Him
فَلَا
falā
[then] not
يَمْلِكُونَ
yamlikūna
they have power
كَشْفَ
kashfa
(to) remove
ٱلضُّرِّ
l-ḍuri
the misfortunes
عَنكُمْ
ʿankum
from you
وَلَا
walā
and not
تَحْوِيلًا
taḥwīlan
(to) transfer (it)
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 56) ➊ {قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِيْنَ زَعَمْتُمْ … :} Alusi said, "Za‘m" is close to "zann" (i.e., assumption); sometimes it is used for something about which there is doubt. At times, it is also used in the meaning of "kadhib" (falsehood), and sometimes it is used for an established, true matter about which there is no doubt, as is found in several hadiths. In all such places, the meaning of "za‘m" will be {’’قَالَ‘‘}. "Za‘m" is among those verbs that are transitive to two objects. Here, both objects are omitted, meaning {’’ زَعَمْتُمُوْهُمْ آلِهَةً ‘‘} that call upon those whom you have assumed to be gods, i.e., angels, jinn, saints, idols, in short, all those whom you worship and call upon in times of difficulty, and whom you assume to be your gods and consider to be fulfillers of needs and removers of difficulties—call upon them.
➋ {فَلَا يَمْلِكُوْنَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنْكُمْ وَ لَا تَحْوِيْلًا:} So they do not have power to remove harm from you, nor to transfer it to anyone else, so why do you prostrate to them and call upon them for help? Allah Almighty has mentioned this subject in several places; see Surah Al-An‘am (17, 40, 41), Yunus (107), and Surah An-Naml (62).
➋ {فَلَا يَمْلِكُوْنَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنْكُمْ وَ لَا تَحْوِيْلًا:} So they do not have power to remove harm from you, nor to transfer it to anyone else, so why do you prostrate to them and call upon them for help? Allah Almighty has mentioned this subject in several places; see Surah Al-An‘am (17, 40, 41), Yunus (107), and Surah An-Naml (62).
