وَلَا تَدْعُ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنفَعُكَ وَلَا يَضُرُّكَ ۖ فَإِن فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا مِّنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ 106
Translations
And do not invoke besides Allāh that which neither benefits you nor harms you, for if you did, then indeed you would be of the wrongdoers.'"
Transliteration
Wa lā tad'u min dūni-llāhi mā lā yanfaʿuka wa lā yaḍurru-ka, fa-in faʿalta fa-innaka idhān min aẓ-ẓālimīn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah prohibits invoking or worshipping anything besides Allah that can neither benefit nor harm, declaring that doing so constitutes injustice (ẓulm). Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that this addresses the idolatry of the Quraysh who sought intercession through false deities, while Al-Qurtubi notes the logical inconsistency of worshipping what is powerless—why call upon that which cannot help? The ayah establishes that true monotheism demands exclusive reliance on Allah alone, the Only Source of benefit and harm.
Revelation Context
Revealed in Mecca during the early preaching period when the Quraysh rejected Prophet Muhammad's message of pure monotheism and clung to their ancestral idols. This ayah is part of a broader Meccan discourse in Surah Yunus establishing the fundamental principle of Tawhīd (Oneness of Allah) against polytheistic practices, addressing both the emotional attachment to idols and the theological fallacy underlying their worship.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The supplication is worship' (Sunan At-Tirmidhi 3372), which reinforces that calling upon false gods is an act of worship directed away from Allah. Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Muslim about the three things that enter Paradise and Hell—where sincere reliance only on Allah is praised—substantiates this ayah's message.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that true faith requires exclusive dependence on Allah and rejection of intermediaries who lack power; it challenges modern believers to examine whether they place trust in false sources—whether literal idols, wealth, status, or other created things—rather than placing their complete reliance on the All-Powerful Creator alone.