سُوْرَةُ الزُّمَرِ
Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 64
قُلْ أَفَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ تَأْمُرُوٓنِّىٓ أَعْبُدُ أَيُّهَا ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ ﴿64﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم to the polytheists): "Do you order me to worship other than Allâh? O you fools!"
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
قُلْ
qul
Say
أَفَغَيْرَ
afaghayra
Is (it) other than
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
Allah
تَأْمُرُوٓنِّىٓ
tamurūnnī
you order me
أَعْبُدُ
aʿbudu
(to) worship
أَيُّهَا
ayyuhā
O
ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ
l-jāhilūna
ignorant ones
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 64) ➊ The sentence after {قُلْ اَفَغَيْرَ اللّٰهِ تَاْمُرُوْٓنِّيْۤ اَعْبُدُ : ’’ قُلْ ‘‘} begins with "fa" (then), but since the interrogative hamzah is always at the beginning of a statement, the "fa" has been placed after it. Similarly, the verbal sentence should have started with the verb {’’ تَاْمُرُوْٓنِّيْۤ ‘‘} and {’’غَيْرَ اللّٰهِ‘‘} should have come after {’’ اَعْبُدُ ‘‘}, but to highlight the insignificance of {’’غَيْرَ اللّٰهِ‘‘}, it has been mentioned first. That is, when Allah is the Creator of everything, He alone is the Guardian over everything, and the keys of the heavens and the earth are with Him alone, then while He exists, do you command me to worship someone other than Him, who does not even have control over his own existence?
➋ The word { اَيُّهَا الْجٰهِلُوْنَ:} (ignorance) is used in contrast to hilm (forbearance) and also in contrast to knowledge; here, it is used in contrast to knowledge. That is, O ignorant ones, who have fallen into the lowliness of worshipping stones, graves, animals, or helpless and powerless creatures like yourselves, despite hearing and seeing with your own ears and eyes the clear proofs that Allah alone is the One and Only God with no partner! You have no knowledge of Allah’s essence and attributes that you should worship Him alone, nor are you aware of the status of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that you dare to invite him to worship other than Allah, nor do you have any awareness of the honor Allah has bestowed upon you by creating you as humans, that being such a high creation, you worship creatures like yourselves or even lower than yourselves. Iqbal has said:
"Man, due to lack of insight, began to worship man.
I have never seen a dog bow its head before another dog."
➋ The word { اَيُّهَا الْجٰهِلُوْنَ:} (ignorance) is used in contrast to hilm (forbearance) and also in contrast to knowledge; here, it is used in contrast to knowledge. That is, O ignorant ones, who have fallen into the lowliness of worshipping stones, graves, animals, or helpless and powerless creatures like yourselves, despite hearing and seeing with your own ears and eyes the clear proofs that Allah alone is the One and Only God with no partner! You have no knowledge of Allah’s essence and attributes that you should worship Him alone, nor are you aware of the status of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that you dare to invite him to worship other than Allah, nor do you have any awareness of the honor Allah has bestowed upon you by creating you as humans, that being such a high creation, you worship creatures like yourselves or even lower than yourselves. Iqbal has said:
"Man, due to lack of insight, began to worship man.
I have never seen a dog bow its head before another dog."
