وَٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ءَالِهَةً لِّيَكُونُوا۟ لَهُمْ عِزًّا 81
Translations
And they have taken besides Allāh [false] deities that they would be for them [a source of] honor.
Transliteration
Wa-ittakhadoo min dooni-Allahi aalihatan liyakoonoo lahum izzah
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns the polytheists who took false deities besides Allah, falsely believing these idols would grant them power, honor, and protection (izzah). Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note that the Arabs worshipped idols expecting them to provide worldly might and status, yet these lifeless objects could neither benefit nor harm anyone. The ayah emphasizes the futility and irrationality of shirk (associating partners with Allah), as only Allah possesses true power and can grant genuine honor.
Revelation Context
Surah Maryam, revealed in Mecca during the early period of Islam, addresses the pagan Arabs' idol worship directly. This ayah fits within the broader Meccan context of refuting polytheism and emphasizing Allah's absolute oneness. The surah uses the story of Prophet Zachariah and Mary to contrast true monotheistic faith with the false beliefs of the disbelievers.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever dies while calling upon another besides Allah will enter the Fire' (Sahih Bukhari 4497). Also relevant: 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3154).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that true honor, power, and protection come only from Allah alone, not from wealth, status, or material possessions. Seeking izzah (honor and strength) through anything other than obedience to Allah is a delusion that leads to spiritual destruction.
Related Ayahs
سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ ۚ قُلْ فَأَنَّىٰ تُسْحَرُونَ
They will say, "[All belongs] to Allāh." Say, "Then how are you deluded?"
۞ وَمَن يَقُلْ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّىٓ إِلَـٰهٌ مِّن دُونِهِۦ فَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِيهِ جَهَنَّمَ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
And whoever of them should say, "Indeed, I am a god besides Him" - that one We would recompense with Hell. Thus do We recompense the wrongdoers.
أَوَلَمْ يَنظُرُوا۟ فِى مَلَكُوتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ مِن شَىْءٍ وَأَنْ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَكُونَ قَدِ ٱقْتَرَبَ أَجَلُهُمْ ۖ فَبِأَىِّ حَدِيثٍۭ بَعْدَهُۥ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Do they not look into the realm of the heavens and the earth and everything that Allāh has created and [think] that perhaps their appointed time has come near? So in what statement [i.e., message] hereafter will they believe?
يُقَلِّبُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرِ
Allāh alternates the night and the day. Indeed in that is a lesson for those who have vision.