سُوْرَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ
Surah Ghafir (40) — Ayah 74
مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ قَالُوا۟ ضَلُّوا۟ عَنَّا بَل لَّمْ نَكُن نَّدْعُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ شَيْـًٔا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ ﴿74﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
"Besides Allâh"? They will say: "They have vanished from us: Nay, we did not invoke (worship) anything before." Thus Allâh leads astray the disbelievers.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
مِن
min
Other than
دُونِ
dūni
Other than
ٱللَّهِ ۖ
l-lahi
Allah
قَالُوا۟
qālū
They will say
ضَلُّوا۟
ḍallū
They have departed
عَنَّا
ʿannā
from us
بَل
bal
Nay
لَّمْ
lam
Not
نَكُن
nakun
we used to
نَّدْعُوا۟
nadʿū
[we] call
مِن
min
before
قَبْلُ
qablu
before
شَيْـًۭٔا ۚ
shayan
anything
كَذَٰلِكَ
kadhālika
Thus
يُضِلُّ
yuḍillu
Allah lets go astray
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah lets go astray
ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
l-kāfirīna
the disbelievers
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.
74. They will say: "They have vanished from us. In fact, we never used to call upon anything before [95]." Thus Allah lets the disbelievers go astray in confusion [96].
[95] This sentence can have two meanings, and both are correct. One, which is clear from the translation, is that the polytheists will forget everything and will completely deny their polytheism. The second is that those things which we used to call upon in the world, in reality, had no power whatsoever and were absolutely nothing. It was our own mistake that we considered them to be 'something'.
[96]
The Bewilderment of the Polytheists: Contradictory Answers to a Single Question:
In this sentence, the bewilderment of the polytheists is mentioned, that they will keep giving different and contradictory answers to a single question. The question was: Where are those partners of yours today whom you used to associate with Allah? One answer they will give is that we do not remember ever calling upon anyone besides Allah, and even if there was such a thing, we do not see them today, or they have vanished from our memory. The second answer is that they will outright deny: When did we ever call upon anyone besides Allah? And the third answer is the one mentioned separately in several places, that the worshippers will blame their deities, saying: O Allah! These great ones led us astray, so give them double punishment. In this answer, they will be fully admitting their crime. That is, the question is one, but look at the state of confusion in their answers—sometimes denial, sometimes admission. They will not understand which answer to stick to, because falsehood has no solid foundation.
[95] This sentence can have two meanings, and both are correct. One, which is clear from the translation, is that the polytheists will forget everything and will completely deny their polytheism. The second is that those things which we used to call upon in the world, in reality, had no power whatsoever and were absolutely nothing. It was our own mistake that we considered them to be 'something'.
[96]
The Bewilderment of the Polytheists: Contradictory Answers to a Single Question:
In this sentence, the bewilderment of the polytheists is mentioned, that they will keep giving different and contradictory answers to a single question. The question was: Where are those partners of yours today whom you used to associate with Allah? One answer they will give is that we do not remember ever calling upon anyone besides Allah, and even if there was such a thing, we do not see them today, or they have vanished from our memory. The second answer is that they will outright deny: When did we ever call upon anyone besides Allah? And the third answer is the one mentioned separately in several places, that the worshippers will blame their deities, saying: O Allah! These great ones led us astray, so give them double punishment. In this answer, they will be fully admitting their crime. That is, the question is one, but look at the state of confusion in their answers—sometimes denial, sometimes admission. They will not understand which answer to stick to, because falsehood has no solid foundation.
