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
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْا۟ بَأْسَنَا قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَحْدَهُۥ وَكَفَرْنَا بِمَا كُنَّا بِهِۦ مُشْرِكِينَ
And when they saw Our punishment, they said, "We believe in Allāh alone and disbelieve in that which we used to associate with Him."
ٱللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ ءَابَآئِكُمُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
Allāh, your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers?"
لَهُۥ دَعْوَةُ ٱلْحَقِّ ۖ وَٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦ لَا يَسْتَجِيبُونَ لَهُم بِشَىْءٍ إِلَّا كَبَـٰسِطِ كَفَّيْهِ إِلَى ٱلْمَآءِ لِيَبْلُغَ فَاهُ وَمَا هُوَ بِبَـٰلِغِهِۦ ۚ وَمَا دُعَآءُ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ إِلَّا فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ
To Him [alone] is the supplication of truth. And those they call upon besides Him do not respond to them with a thing, except as one who stretches his hands toward water [from afar, calling it] to reach his mouth, but it will not reach it [thus]. And the supplication of the disbelievers is not but in error [i.e., futility].
وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَـٰنُ لِٱبْنِهِۦ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ يَـٰبُنَىَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], when Luqmān said to his son while he was instructing him, "O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allāh. Indeed, association [with Him] is great injustice."