۞ وَقَالَ ٱللَّهُ لَا تَتَّخِذُوٓا۟ إِلَـٰهَيْنِ ٱثْنَيْنِ ۖ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلَـٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ ۖ فَإِيَّـٰىَ فَٱرْهَبُونِ 51
Translations
And Allāh has said, "Do not take for yourselves two deities. He [i.e., Allāh] is but one God, so fear only Me."
Transliteration
Wa qalallahu la tattakhidhu ilahayni ithnain, innama huwa ilahun wahid, fa-iyyaya farhbun
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the believers not to take two gods, emphasizing the absolute oneness of Allah (Tawhid). Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that this ayah represents a divine prohibition against polytheism and shirk, establishing that Allah alone is worthy of worship and fear. The phrase 'so fear Me alone' (fa-iyyaya farhbun) demonstrates that fear and reverence are due exclusively to the One God, not to idols or false deities.
Revelation Context
Revealed in Mecca during the early Islamic period when the polytheists of Quraysh were deeply entrenched in idol worship. This ayah addresses the fundamental message of Islamic monotheism and refutes the pagan Arab practice of associating partners with Allah, making it a cornerstone of the Meccan revelation's emphasis on Tawhid.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever dies without associating partners with Allah will enter Paradise' (Sahih Muslim 93). Additionally, the hadith 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah' (Sahih Bukhari 2654) directly relates to the warning in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that true submission to Allah requires complete rejection of polytheism and recognition of His exclusive divinity, which should be reflected in genuine fear and reverence of Him alone, not through superstitious devotion to created beings or false gods.
Related Ayahs
لَّا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَتَقْعُدَ مَذْمُومًا مَّخْذُولًا
Do not make [as equal] with Allāh another deity and [thereby] become censured and forsaken.
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلِ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِهَـٰدًا
Have We not made the earth a resting place?
أَمَّن يُجِيبُ ٱلْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ ٱلسُّوٓءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ أَءِلَـٰهٌ مَّعَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ
Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allāh? Little do you remember.
أَمْ لَهُمْ إِلَـٰهٌ غَيْرُ ٱللَّهِ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
Or have they a deity other than Allāh? Exalted is Allāh above whatever they associate with Him.