وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدْعُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَن لَّا يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُۥٓ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَهُمْ عَن دُعَآئِهِمْ غَـٰفِلُونَ 5
Translations
And who is more astray than he who invokes besides Allāh those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection [i.e., never], and they, of their invocation, are unaware.
Transliteration
Wa man adalla mimman yad'u min dūnillāhi man lā yastajību lahu ilā yawmil-qiyāmati wa hum 'an du'ā'ihim ghāfilūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah poses a rhetorical question emphasizing the utter foolishness of those who call upon idols and false deities besides Allah, who cannot hear them or respond to their supplications until the Day of Judgment. The idols remain completely unaware and heedless of the calls directed towards them, highlighting the futility of polytheism. As Al-Qurtubi explains, this demonstrates the illogical nature of shirk (associating partners with Allah), since one's object of worship should at minimum be capable of hearing and responding.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Ahqaf is a Meccan chapter revealed during the period of intense polytheistic opposition to the Prophet's message. This ayah appears within a section refuting idolatry and polytheism, establishing the rational superiority of monotheism over the spiritual bankruptcy of idol-worship. The context reflects the Quranic strategy of using logical argumentation to convince the Meccan disbelievers of tawhīd (monotheism).
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The closest the Lord comes to His servant is in the middle of the night, so if you can be among those who remember Allah at that time, do so' (Tirmidhi). This contrasts the responsiveness of Allah to sincere supplication with the unresponsiveness of false deities mentioned in the ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to trust exclusively in Allah's ability to hear and answer their prayers, while recognizing that directing worship to anything besides Him is fundamentally irrational and spiritually destructive. For modern readers, it serves as a reminder that true reliance (tawakkul) should be placed only in the One who is eternally aware and responsive to His servants' needs.