Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 3

(Ayah 3){ وَ اتَّخَذُوْا مِنْ دُوْنِهٖۤ اٰلِهَةً لَّا يَخْلُقُوْنَ شَيْـًٔا …:} In this verse, Allah Almighty has mentioned several criteria for being the True Deity and has invited all polytheists to examine their gods according to these criteria and explain how they could possibly be deities. These criteria are: (1) Any being that cannot create anything, or is not the creator of anything, cannot be a deity. (2) Any being that is itself created, that has been brought into existence by someone else, cannot be a god. It is clear that all those who are taken as deities besides Allah are all created beings, whether they are angels, jinn, humans, trees, stones, idols, graves, the sun, the moon, stars, or anything else; therefore, making them deities is a great ignorance. (3) Any being that cannot benefit or harm another, in other words, any being that cannot fulfill needs or remove difficulties, cannot be a god. This is the very attribute that polytheists ascribe to some other beings besides Allah, whether they are living or non-living, alive or deceased, and this type of shirk is the most widespread. Allah Almighty has refuted this by saying that if something does not even have control over its own benefit or harm, how can it fulfill the needs or remove the difficulties of others! This criterion is so clear and powerful that, according to it, all deities besides Allah are proven false. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) broke the idols, and they could not do anything to him. As for the pious elders, whether they are prophets or saints, alive or deceased, all of them suffered countless hardships in their lives, but they could not remove their own difficulties and illnesses, so how could they help others, or how will they do so? They themselves only kept praying to Allah. As for the sun and moon, stars, and angels, all of these are such creations that have no authority of their own. Allah has assigned them to a particular task, and they cannot do anything else besides that, so they too do not meet the criteria of divinity.

(4) Another criterion for being the True Deity is that the being should be able to cause death to the living, give life to the dead, and raise the dead from their graves. This is the attribute of Allah, that He is constantly creating living things from the dead and dead things from the living, and on the Day of Resurrection, He will bring everyone back to life and present them before Him. No other being has the power to give life, cause death, or establish the Resurrection. At this place, these criteria for being the True Deity have been mentioned, while at other places, several more criteria are mentioned, for example: one who is himself needy cannot be a god; one who is lifeless cannot be a god; one who eats food cannot be a god; one who sleeps or dies cannot be a god; one who does not have knowledge of everything cannot be a god; one who cannot hear, see, speak, or respond cannot be a god, etc. (Tayseer al-Qur’an, Kilani, with adaptation)