سُوْرَةُ الْاَحْقَافِ
Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) — Ayah 5
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدْعُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَن لَّا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُۥٓ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَهُمْ عَن دُعَآئِهِمْ غَـٰفِلُونَ ﴿5﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes) besides Allâh, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to them?
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَمَنْ
waman
And who
أَضَلُّ
aḍallu
(is) more astray
مِمَّن
mimman
than (he) who
يَدْعُوا۟
yadʿū
calls
مِن
min
besides
دُونِ
dūni
besides
ٱللَّهِ
l-lahi
Allah
مَن
man
who
لَّا
lā
will not respond
يَسْتَجِيبُ
yastajību
will not respond
لَهُۥٓ
lahu
to him
إِلَىٰ
ilā
until
يَوْمِ
yawmi
(the) Day
ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ
l-qiyāmati
(of) Resurrection
وَهُمْ
wahum
and they
عَن
ʿan
of
دُعَآئِهِمْ
duʿāihim
their calls
غَـٰفِلُونَ
ghāfilūna
(are) unaware
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.
5. And who is more astray than one who calls upon others besides Allah—those who will not answer him until the Day of Resurrection [6], and who are unaware of their supplication?
[6]
The Two Meanings of Istijabah and the Refutation of the Polytheists:
Here, the word "istijabah" conveys two types of meanings, and both are included in the concept of this word. The first is that one who cannot even hear, how can he respond? For example, if someone were to ask a stone or a tree, "Which way is Lahore?"—since it cannot hear, how could it possibly answer? The second meaning of this word is to hear someone's supplication or call and to accept it and act upon it. For example, I pray to Allah to cure me of this illness, and Allah truly honors my call with acceptance and removes my illness, then I would say my supplication has been answered. From this, it becomes clearly evident that here, the objects of worship also include inanimate deities who cannot hear at all, as well as living beings such as angels, jinn, and living saints, etc., who can hear but have no authority to act upon such supplication or request. The misguidance and extreme misguidance of the polytheists is that they present their requests before such things or beings upon whom the implementation of the request is not within their domain of authority at all. A simple example of this is to understand that a person wants to have a telephone installed in his house, but he sends his request to the police department; it is obvious that this foolish person's request will never be acted upon. This is exactly the example of those polytheists who call upon others besides Allah.
[6]
The Two Meanings of Istijabah and the Refutation of the Polytheists:
Here, the word "istijabah" conveys two types of meanings, and both are included in the concept of this word. The first is that one who cannot even hear, how can he respond? For example, if someone were to ask a stone or a tree, "Which way is Lahore?"—since it cannot hear, how could it possibly answer? The second meaning of this word is to hear someone's supplication or call and to accept it and act upon it. For example, I pray to Allah to cure me of this illness, and Allah truly honors my call with acceptance and removes my illness, then I would say my supplication has been answered. From this, it becomes clearly evident that here, the objects of worship also include inanimate deities who cannot hear at all, as well as living beings such as angels, jinn, and living saints, etc., who can hear but have no authority to act upon such supplication or request. The misguidance and extreme misguidance of the polytheists is that they present their requests before such things or beings upon whom the implementation of the request is not within their domain of authority at all. A simple example of this is to understand that a person wants to have a telephone installed in his house, but he sends his request to the police department; it is obvious that this foolish person's request will never be acted upon. This is exactly the example of those polytheists who call upon others besides Allah.
