أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلًا وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ ٱلْخَـٰلِقِينَ 125
Translations
Do you call upon Baʿl and leave the best of creators -
Transliteration
Ata-du'ūna ba'lan wa-tadhārūna ahsana al-khāliqīn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah is part of Prophet Salih's address to the people of Thamud, wherein he rebukes them for calling upon Ba'al (a false deity) while abandoning Allah, the Best of Creators. The rhetorical question emphasizes the absurdity and ingratitude of worshipping false gods when the Creator of all existence deserves exclusive devotion. Ibn Kathir notes this represents the core message of Salih's preaching: monotheism and the rejection of idolatry.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within the narrative of Prophet Salih and the Thamud in Surah As-Saffat, which recounts stories of previous messengers and their peoples. The context is Salih's direct confrontation of his people's polytheism and their worship of idols carved from stone, demonstrating the eternal struggle between divine guidance and human deviation.
Related Hadiths
Thematically related: The hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet ﷺ said, 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah (shirk),' emphasizing the severity of polytheism. Additionally, the story of Thamud is referenced in multiple hadiths warning against their fate as a consequence of rejecting the messenger.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a timeless reminder that worshipping anything besides Allah represents a fundamental contradiction and ingratitude, as only the Creator deserves devotion. Modern believers should reflect on whether they give precedence to worldly pursuits, desires, or false ideologies over the worship and remembrance of Allah, the Supreme Creator.
Related Ayahs
وَمَن يَدْعُ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ لَا بُرْهَـٰنَ لَهُۥ بِهِۦ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُۥ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ
And whoever invokes besides Allāh another deity for which he has no proof - then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.
أَلَآ إِنَّ لِلَّهِ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَمَا يَتَّبِعُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَخْرُصُونَ
Unquestionably, to Allāh belongs whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth. And those who invoke other than Allāh do not [actually] follow [His] "partners." They follow not except assumption, and they are not but misjudging.
أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّنِى لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ
[Through a messenger, saying], "Do not worship except Allāh. Indeed, I am to you from Him a warner and a bringer of good tidings,"
قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ ءَابَآئِكُمُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
[Moses] said, "Your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers."