Surah An-Najm (53) — Ayah 33

(Ayah 34,33) ➊ { اَفَرَءَيْتَ الَّذِيْ تَوَلّٰى:} The subject of this Surah is the affirmation of Prophethood, the refutation of polytheism and idol worship, and the condemnation of the polytheists of Makkah. In the previous verse, Allah Almighty forbade man from considering or claiming himself to be pure. The Quraysh of Makkah held various assumptions and claims about themselves, which had led them into delusion. In different places in the Qur’an, these assumptions of theirs have been mentioned. One of them was the assumption of superiority due to being descendants of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty, by mentioning the creation of all people from clay and then from the womb of the mother, declared piety as the criterion of excellence. One of their actions was that they placed images of Ibrahim, Ismail (peace be upon them), and other elders inside the Ka‘bah itself and worshipped them, thinking that these representatives and intercessors of theirs were so powerful that they would shelter their followers, no matter what they did, in their embrace. (See Yunus: 18) Another assumption of theirs was that despite disbelief, just as they had received blessings in this world, they would receive them in the Hereafter as well. (See Maryam: 77) Similarly, they used to prevent others from accepting Islam by saying, “Keep following our path, we will bear your sins.” (See Ankabut: 12) The result of all these claims and assumptions was that, due to being fearless of the punishment of the Hereafter, they had developed an intense greed, miserliness, and baseness in this world. Even when they spent something, it was for show and fame, and even then, only so much as to gain a name; beyond that, their hands were not ready to open, and even after spending that much, they would boast about their generosity and magnanimity, saying, “I did this and I did that,” as mentioned in Surah Balad: «يَقُوْلُ اَهْلَكْتُ مَالًا لُّبَدًا » [ البلد : ۶ ] “He says, ‘I have squandered heaps of wealth.’” Relying on their forefathers, leaders, representatives, and intercessors, they would commit sins saying, “They will bear our sins,” just as the Christians say that for the atonement of all our sins, the Messiah (peace be upon him) was crucified, we are his followers, he took all our sins upon himself and got them forgiven, and just as nowadays some among the Muslims say that Husain (may Allah be pleased with him), by attaining martyrdom, got all the sins of his followers forgiven. Allah Almighty, in these verses, has refuted all such assumptions and claims.

➋ { وَ اَعْطٰى قَلِيْلًا وَّ اَكْدٰى: ’’ اَكْدٰى ‘‘ ’’كُدْيَةٌ‘‘} is from "كُدْيَةٌ", which means "rock." If a person starts digging a well, etc., and stops digging because a rock or stone comes in the way, it is said: {’’أَكْدَي الرَّجُلُ۔‘‘} Here, {’’ الَّذِيْ ‘‘} does not refer to any specific person, but the purpose is to mention the psychology and behavior of a polytheist person, that these people do not have the courage to give in the way of Allah; if ever they do give, it is for name’s sake, and that too a little, then the rock of miserliness comes before them and they stop, especially when they do not see any fame or worldly benefit in it. It is said, “Have you seen the person who turned away from accepting the truth, spent a little wealth, and then stopped?” Shah Abdul Qadir said: “That is, he started to bring a little faith, then stopped.” (Muwadhih) In this sense, it refers to those polytheists who once praised the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) or the Qur’an, but after that refrained from believing.