هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ قَوْمُنَا ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ ءَالِهَةً ۖ لَّوْلَا يَأْتُونَ عَلَيْهِم بِسُلْطَـٰنٍۭ بَيِّنٍ ۖ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ ٱفْتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ كَذِبًا 15
Translations
These, our people, have taken besides Him deities. Why do they not bring for [worship of] them a clear evidence? And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allāh a lie?"
Transliteration
Haa'ulaa'i qawmunā ittakhadhū min dūnihi āliha. Law lā ya'tūn 'alayhim bi-sulṭānin bayyinā. Fa-man aẓlamu mimman iftarā 'alallāhi kadhiban.
Tafsir (Explanation)
The young men of the Cave lament that their people have adopted false gods besides Allah without any clear evidence or proof to support their idolatry. The ayah emphasizes the logical absurdity and grave sin of polytheism—that fabricating lies about Allah by attributing partners to Him is the greatest injustice (zulm). Classical scholars like Al-Qurtubi note that this statement by the companions of the Cave demonstrates their intellectual clarity and moral courage in recognizing the falsehood of their society's religion.
Revelation Context
This ayah occurs within the narrative of Ashab al-Kahf (the Companions of the Cave), a Meccan surah revealed during a period when the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) faced intense opposition from the Meccan polytheists. The story illustrates how young believers stood firm against societal pressure and false religion, serving as comfort to the early Muslims facing similar persecution for their monotheism.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah' (Sahih Bukhari). Also relevant is the hadith: 'Whoever dies while associating partners with Allah will enter the Fire' (Sahih Muslim), highlighting the severity of shirk mentioned in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to demand clear, rational proof for religious claims and to recognize that adopting false beliefs without evidence is not merely error but represents profound injustice. It inspires courage to reject falsehood even when surrounded by a society that embraces it, reminding us that monotheistic conviction should be rooted in clear understanding, not blind imitation.
Related Ayahs
كَذَٰلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًا
Thus. And We had encompassed [all] that he had in knowledge.
وَأُحِيطَ بِثَمَرِهِۦ فَأَصْبَحَ يُقَلِّبُ كَفَّيْهِ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَنفَقَ فِيهَا وَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا وَيَقُولُ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى لَمْ أُشْرِكْ بِرَبِّىٓ أَحَدًا
And his fruits were encompassed [by ruin], so he began to turn his hands about [in dismay] over what he had spent on it, while it had collapsed upon its trellises, and said, "Oh, I wish I had not associated with my Lord anyone."
وَٱصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلْغَدَوٰةِ وَٱلْعَشِىِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُۥ ۖ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُۥ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُۥ فُرُطًا
And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His face [i.e., acceptance]. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.
قَالَ لَهُۥ صَاحِبُهُۥ وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُۥٓ أَكَفَرْتَ بِٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكَ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ سَوَّىٰكَ رَجُلًا
His companion said to him while he was conversing with him, "Have you disbelieved in He who created you from dust and then from a sperm-drop and then proportioned you [as] a man?