سُوْرَةُ الْفُرْقَانِ
Surah Al-Furqaan (25) — Ayah 3
وَٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ ءَالِهَةً لَّا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْـًٔا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ وَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ لِأَنفُسِهِمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا وَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ مَوْتًا وَلَا حَيَوٰةً وَلَا نُشُورًا ﴿3﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Yet they have taken besides Him other alîhâh (gods) who created nothing but are themselves created, and possess neither harm nor benefit for themselves, and possess no power (of causing) death, nor (of giving) life, nor of raising the dead.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَٱتَّخَذُوا۟
wa-ittakhadhū
Yet they have taken
مِن
min
besides Him
دُونِهِۦٓ
dūnihi
besides Him
ءَالِهَةًۭ
ālihatan
gods
لَّا
lā
not
يَخْلُقُونَ
yakhluqūna
they create
شَيْـًۭٔا
shayan
anything
وَهُمْ
wahum
while they
يُخْلَقُونَ
yukh'laqūna
are created
وَلَا
walā
and not
يَمْلِكُونَ
yamlikūna
they possess
لِأَنفُسِهِمْ
li-anfusihim
for themselves
ضَرًّۭا
ḍarran
any harm
وَلَا
walā
and not
نَفْعًۭا
nafʿan
any benefit
وَلَا
walā
and not
يَمْلِكُونَ
yamlikūna
they control
مَوْتًۭا
mawtan
death
وَلَا
walā
and not
حَيَوٰةًۭ
ḥayatan
life
وَلَا
walā
and not
نُشُورًۭا
nushūran
resurrection
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
3. Yet they have taken besides Him other gods, who create nothing but are themselves created. They do not possess the power to harm or benefit themselves, nor do they have any control over death, [7] life, or resurrection.
[7] In this verse, Allah Almighty has stated several criteria of divinity and has given a general invitation to the polytheists to examine their deities according to these criteria and then tell whether there is even a trace of divinity in their deities. For example:
(1) Any being that cannot create anything or is not the creator of anything cannot be a deity.
(2) Anything that is itself created or is a creature cannot be a god, because anything that has been created will certainly perish, and something that perishes cannot be a deity. Now, it is evident that the deities of the polytheists, whether they are idols which they themselves have fashioned, or angels, or any other thing such as the sun, moon, stars, trees, or stones, all these things are creations of Allah. Therefore, none of them meet the criteria of divinity.
(3) Any being that cannot benefit or harm another, in other words, that cannot fulfill needs or remove difficulties, cannot be a deity. These are the very attributes that the polytheists ascribe to certain other beings besides Allah (whether they are living or non-living, alive or deceased), and this is the most common form of shirk. Allah Almighty has answered this by saying:
(4)
The Negative Criteria of Divinity:
Anything that does not even have control over its own benefit or harm cannot fulfill the needs or remove the difficulties of others. And this is such a criterion that, according to it, all deities except Allah are declared false. The stone idols were smashed by Prophet Ibrahim ؑ, and they could not do anything to him. As for the pious elders (whether they were prophets or saints, alive or deceased), all of them suffered countless hardships in their lives, but they could not remove their own pains and illnesses, so how could they help others or how will they do so? Therefore, they only kept praying to Allah. As for the sun and the moon, stars, and angels, all these are such creations that have no authority of their own. Allah has assigned them to certain tasks, and they cannot do anything other than what Allah has assigned to them. Therefore, they too cannot meet the criteria of divinity.
(5) The fifth criterion of divinity is that the being should be able to cause a living thing to die and bring a dead thing to life. This is the attribute of Allah, that He is constantly creating living things from the dead and dead things from the living. And regarding other deities, Allah Almighty has stated as a challenge that they cannot even create a lowly creature like a fly, while their helplessness is such that if a fly snatches something from them, they cannot retrieve it from the fly even if they all join together, and to resurrect the dead is an even greater matter. At this place, these are the criteria of divinity that have been mentioned, while at some other places, even more criteria are mentioned: for example, one who is himself in need cannot be a deity; one who is lifeless cannot be a deity; one who eats food cannot be a deity; one who cannot hear or see or cannot respond cannot be a deity, and so on.
[7] In this verse, Allah Almighty has stated several criteria of divinity and has given a general invitation to the polytheists to examine their deities according to these criteria and then tell whether there is even a trace of divinity in their deities. For example:
(1) Any being that cannot create anything or is not the creator of anything cannot be a deity.
(2) Anything that is itself created or is a creature cannot be a god, because anything that has been created will certainly perish, and something that perishes cannot be a deity. Now, it is evident that the deities of the polytheists, whether they are idols which they themselves have fashioned, or angels, or any other thing such as the sun, moon, stars, trees, or stones, all these things are creations of Allah. Therefore, none of them meet the criteria of divinity.
(3) Any being that cannot benefit or harm another, in other words, that cannot fulfill needs or remove difficulties, cannot be a deity. These are the very attributes that the polytheists ascribe to certain other beings besides Allah (whether they are living or non-living, alive or deceased), and this is the most common form of shirk. Allah Almighty has answered this by saying:
(4)
The Negative Criteria of Divinity:
Anything that does not even have control over its own benefit or harm cannot fulfill the needs or remove the difficulties of others. And this is such a criterion that, according to it, all deities except Allah are declared false. The stone idols were smashed by Prophet Ibrahim ؑ, and they could not do anything to him. As for the pious elders (whether they were prophets or saints, alive or deceased), all of them suffered countless hardships in their lives, but they could not remove their own pains and illnesses, so how could they help others or how will they do so? Therefore, they only kept praying to Allah. As for the sun and the moon, stars, and angels, all these are such creations that have no authority of their own. Allah has assigned them to certain tasks, and they cannot do anything other than what Allah has assigned to them. Therefore, they too cannot meet the criteria of divinity.
(5) The fifth criterion of divinity is that the being should be able to cause a living thing to die and bring a dead thing to life. This is the attribute of Allah, that He is constantly creating living things from the dead and dead things from the living. And regarding other deities, Allah Almighty has stated as a challenge that they cannot even create a lowly creature like a fly, while their helplessness is such that if a fly snatches something from them, they cannot retrieve it from the fly even if they all join together, and to resurrect the dead is an even greater matter. At this place, these are the criteria of divinity that have been mentioned, while at some other places, even more criteria are mentioned: for example, one who is himself in need cannot be a deity; one who is lifeless cannot be a deity; one who eats food cannot be a deity; one who cannot hear or see or cannot respond cannot be a deity, and so on.
