Tafsir

The gods of the Idolators are Created, they do not create

Then Allah tells us that the idols which people call on instead of Him cannot create anything, they are themselves created, as Al-Khalil (Ibrahim) said: قَالَ أَتَعْبُدُونَ مَا تَنْحِتُونَ - وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ("Do you worship that which you (yourselves) carve While Allah has created you and what you make!") (37:-96). أَمْوتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَآءٍ((They are) dead, not alive) means, they are inanimate and lifeless, they do not hear, see, or think. وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ(and they know not when they will be resurrected.) meaning, they do not know when the Hour will come, so how can anyone hope for any benefit or reward from these idols They should hope for it from the One Who knows all things and is the Creator of all things.

Commentary

Verses appearing immediately earlier described the many blessings of Allah Ta` ala in details, proved that He alone is their Creator and established that He is unique in this matter. Now, in the present verses, there comes an admonition against the failure of people to recognize that there is a fact behind the statement describing all these blessings - and that is Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah Ta’ ala, except whom there is none worthy of worship. Therefore, it was said: When it stands proved that Allah alone made the heavens and the earth, made the mountains and rivers, vegetation and animals, trees and plants with their fruits and flowers, how can that most sacred Being that is the Creator of all these things become, for no reason, like idols and icons which cannot create anything? Why would you not understand something so elementary?

والآلهة التي يعبدها المشركون لا تخلق شيئًا وإن صَغُر، فهي مخلوقات صنعها الكفار بأيديهم، فكيف يعبدونها؟

ثم أخبر أن الأصنام التي يدعونها من دون الله لا يخلقون شيئا وهم يخلقون ، كما قال الخليل : ( أتعبدون ما تنحتون والله خلقكم وما تعملون ) [ الصافات : 95 ، 96 ] .