وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِٱللَّهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ 106
Translations
And most of them believe not in Allāh except while they associate others with Him.
Transliteration
Wa maa yu'minu aktharuhum billahi illa wa hum mushrikoon
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns the polytheistic belief system of the Meccan Arabs who claimed to believe in Allah while simultaneously associating partners with Him through idol worship. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, true faith (iman) in Allah is incompatible with shirk (associating partners with God), and such nominal belief mixed with polytheism is considered invalid and unacceptable. The ayah emphasizes that belief cannot coexist with the fundamental contradiction of monotheism when one worships idols alongside Allah.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the broader context of Surah Yusuf, which addresses the Meccan society's resistance to Islamic monotheism. The surah was revealed during the Meccan period when the Arabs were deeply entrenched in idol worship while maintaining some acknowledgment of Allah as the supreme creator. This specific ayah is thematically connected to the refutation of their inconsistent theology.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The right of Allah upon His slaves is that they worship Him and do not associate any partners with Him' (Sahih Bukhari 2856). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Muslim 23 emphasizes that whoever dies while associating partners with Allah enters Hell, reinforcing the incompatibility of shirk with true faith.
Themes
Key Lesson
True faith requires complete dedication to the worship of Allah alone without any partnership or division; believers must examine their hearts to ensure that cultural practices, worldly pursuits, or reverence toward others do not subtly undermine their monotheistic commitment.