وَقِيلَ ٱدْعُوا۟ شُرَكَآءَكُمْ فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لَهُمْ وَرَأَوُا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ ۚ لَوْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا۟ يَهْتَدُونَ 64
Translations
And it will be said, "Invoke your 'partners,'" and they will invoke them; but they will not respond to them, and they will see the punishment. If only they had followed guidance!
Transliteration
Wa qeela udu'oo shuraka'akum fa da'awhu hum fa lam yastaji boo lahum wa ra'awu al-'adhab; law annahum kanoo yahta doon.
Tafsir (Explanation)
On the Day of Judgment, the disbelievers will be commanded to call upon their false deities and partners (those they associated with Allah), but these idols will not respond to them, and they will witness the punishment. Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that this verse illustrates the helplessness of the polytheists and the futility of their shirk (polytheism), as their false gods prove to be utterly powerless. The conditional ending 'if only they had been guided' emphasizes the tragedy of their rejection of Allah's guidance during their worldly life.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah Al-Qasam (The Stories), a Meccan surah that recounts the stories of past prophets and nations. It forms part of a sequence describing the Day of Judgment where the consequences of disbelief and polytheism are laid bare. The broader context addresses the inevitability of Allah's justice and the regret that will overcome the disbelievers.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'On the Day of Judgment, the idols and those who worshipped them will be cast into Hell' (related thematically in various sahih collections). Additionally, Surah Al-Hajj 22:73 presents a related concept: 'Indeed, those you call upon besides Allah will never create [even] a fly, although they may gather for that purpose.'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that false gods and worldly objects of devotion cannot help in times of ultimate need, serving as a powerful reminder to place complete trust in Allah alone. For modern readers, it emphasizes the importance of discerning true sources of guidance and rejecting false hopes in anything other than Allah's mercy and justice.
Related Ayahs
وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَنُرِىَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَـٰمَـٰنَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَحْذَرُونَ
And establish them in the land and show Pharaoh and [his minister] Hāmān and their soldiers through them that which they had feared.
وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا۟ لَنَآ أَعْمَـٰلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـٰلُكُمْ سَلَـٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَا نَبْتَغِى ٱلْجَـٰهِلِينَ
And when they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say, "For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace will be upon you; we seek not the ignorant."
۞ إِنَّ قَـٰرُونَ كَانَ مِن قَوْمِ مُوسَىٰ فَبَغَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلْكُنُوزِ مَآ إِنَّ مَفَاتِحَهُۥ لَتَنُوٓأُ بِٱلْعُصْبَةِ أُو۟لِى ٱلْقُوَّةِ إِذْ قَالَ لَهُۥ قَوْمُهُۥ لَا تَفْرَحْ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْفَرِحِينَ
Indeed, Qārūn was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them. And We gave him of treasures whose keys would burden a band of strong men; thereupon his people said to him, "Do not exult. Indeed, Allāh does not like the exultant.
قَالَ سَنَشُدُّ عَضُدَكَ بِأَخِيكَ وَنَجْعَلُ لَكُمَا سُلْطَـٰنًا فَلَا يَصِلُونَ إِلَيْكُمَا ۚ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَآ أَنتُمَا وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَكُمَا ٱلْغَـٰلِبُونَ
[Allāh] said, "We will strengthen your arm through your brother and grant you both supremacy so they will not reach you. [It will be] through Our signs; you and those who follow you will be the predominant."