Tafsir

The gods of the Idolators are not able to help Them

Allah denounces the idolators for taking the idols as gods alongside Allah, hoping that those gods will help them and provide for them and bring them closer to Allah. Allah says:لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَهُمْ(They cannot help them,) meaning, those gods cannot help their worshippers; they are too weak, too insignificant and too powerless. Rather they cannot even help themselves or take revenge on those who want to harm them, because they are inanimate and can neither hear nor comprehend. Allah's saying:وَهُمْ لَهُمْ جُندٌ مٌّحْضَرُونَ(but they will be brought forward as a troop.) means, at the time of Reckoning according to the view of Mujahid. This means that those idols will be gathered together and will be present when their worshippers are brought to account, as this will add to their grief and will be more effective in establishing proof against them.

Qatadah said:لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَهُمْ(They cannot help them,) means the gods.وَهُمْ لَهُمْ جُندٌ مٌّحْضَرُونَ(but they will be brought forward as a troop.) "The idolators used to get angry for the sake of their gods in this world, but they could not do them any benefit or protect them from any harm, for they were merely idols." This was also the view of Al-Hasan Al-Basri. This is a good opinion, and was the view favored by Ibn Jarir, may Allah have mercy on him.

Consolation for the Mercy to the Worldsفَلاَ يَحْزُنكَ قَوْلُهُمْ(So, let not their speech then grieve you.) means, `their denying you and their disbelief in Allah.'إِنَّا نَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ(Verily, We know what they conceal and what they reveal.) means, `We know everything about them, and We will punish them for their false claims and deal with them accordingly on the Day when none of their deeds, great or small, major or minor, will be overlooked, and every deed they did throughout their worldly lives will be laid open for examination.'

In the last verse cited above (75), it was said: وَهُمْ لَهُمْ جُندٌ مُّحْضَرُ‌ونَ (rather they are an army brought forth for them). One sense of this verse is to take the word: جُندٌ (army) in the text to mean an opponent or adversary and take the verse to mean that the things they have made their objects of worship in the mortal world will turn against them on the Day of Judgment and also bear witness against them.

And according to a Tafsir reported from Hasan and Qatadah رحمۃ اللہ علیہما ، it means that these people had taken to idols as gods in the hope that they would help them. But, the reality on the ground proved to be that they were already incapable of helping them. As a result, the very people who used to worship them as their servants and soldiers are now guarding them to the extent that they would take their side and fight against anyone who opposes them (a1-Qurtubi). The translation given in the text (with brackets) is based on this interpretation.

لا تستطيع تلك الآلهة نصر عابديها ولا أنفسهم ينصرون، والمشركون وآلهتهم جميعًا محضرون في العذاب، متبرئ بعضهم من بعض.

قال الله تعالى : ( لا يستطيعون نصرهم ) أي : لا تقدر الآلهة على نصر عابديها ، بل هي أضعف من ذلك وأقل وأذل وأحقر وأدخر ، بل لا تقدر على الانتصار لأنفسها ، ولا الانتقام ممن أرادها بسوء ; لأنها جماد لا تسمع ولا تعقل .وقوله : ( وهم لهم جند محضرون ) : قال مجاهد : يعني : عند الحساب ، يريد أن هذه الأصنام محشورة مجموعة يوم القيامة ، محضرة عند حساب عابديها ; ليكون ذلك أبلغ في خزيهم ، وأدل عليهم في إقامة الحجة عليهم .وقال قتادة : ( لا يستطيعون نصرهم ) يعني الآلهة ، ( وهم لهم جند محضرون ) ، والمشركون يغضبون للآلهة في الدنيا وهي لا تسوق إليهم خيرا ، ولا تدفع عنهم سوءا ، إنما هي أصنام .وهكذا قال الحسن البصري . وهذا القول حسن ، وهو اختيار ابن جرير ، رحمه الله .