أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فَلْيَأْتُوا۟ بِشُرَكَآئِهِمْ إِن كَانُوا۟ صَـٰدِقِينَ 41
Translations
Or do they have partners? Then let them bring their partners, if they should be truthful.
Transliteration
Am lahum shurakaa fa-lya'too bi-shurakaa'ihim in kanoo sadiqeen
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah is a rhetorical challenge to the polytheists of Mecca who claimed that their idols (partners with Allah) could intercede for them or provide benefit. Allah commands them to produce these so-called partners if they are truthful in their claims, knowing they cannot do so, thereby exposing the falsehood of shirk (polytheism). Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi interpret this as a decisive argument against idolatry, as the inability to produce these 'partners' demonstrates their powerlessness and invalidity.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the context of Surah Al-Qalam, a Meccan chapter that primarily addresses the disbelievers' rejection of the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The surah responds to various objections raised by Meccan polytheists, and this particular verse targets their claim of associating partners with Allah in worship and belief.
Related Hadiths
While no hadith directly quotes this verse, it relates thematically to the hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'Whoever dies while calling upon something other than Allah as a rival will meet Allah while He is angry with him.' This reinforces the severity of shirk addressed in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that false beliefs and idolatry cannot withstand rational scrutiny and divine logic—they crumble when challenged to prove their claims. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of sincere monotheism and warns against placing trust, hope, or reliance upon anything other than Allah alone.
Related Ayahs
قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ شُرَكَآءَكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ أَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ أَمْ لَهُمْ شِرْكٌ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ أَمْ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمْ كِتَـٰبًا فَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَتٍ مِّنْهُ ۚ بَلْ إِن يَعِدُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ بَعْضُهُم بَعْضًا إِلَّا غُرُورًا
Say, "Have you considered your 'partners' whom you invoke besides Allāh? Show me what they have created from the earth, or have they partnership [with Him] in the heavens? Or have We given them a book so they are [standing] on evidence therefrom? [No], rather, the wrongdoers do not promise each other except delusion."
وَإِذَا حُشِرَ ٱلنَّاسُ كَانُوا۟ لَهُمْ أَعْدَآءً وَكَانُوا۟ بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَـٰفِرِينَ
And when the people are gathered [that Day], they [who were invoked] will be enemies to them, and they will be deniers of their worship.
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْهُم مِّن ظَهِيرٍ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allāh." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant.
قُلْ أَتَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَمْلِكُ لَكُمْ ضَرًّا وَلَا نَفْعًا ۚ وَٱللَّهُ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
Say, "Do you worship besides Allāh that which holds for you no [power of] harm or benefit while it is Allāh who is the Hearing, the Knowing?"