إِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ حَصَبُ جَهَنَّمَ أَنتُمْ لَهَا وَٰرِدُونَ 98
Translations
Indeed, you [disbelievers] and what you worship other than Allāh are the firewood of Hell. You will be coming to [enter] it.
Transliteration
Innakum wa-ma ta'buduna min duni-Allah hasabu jahannam antum laha wardiun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah warns that the polytheists and their false gods/idols will all become fuel for Hell, and they themselves will enter it. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that 'hasab' (fuel/kindling) refers to what feeds and sustains the fire, emphasizing the absolute destruction of both the worshippers and the worshipped. The ayah stresses that no false deity—whether angels, saints, idols, or other creations worshipped besides Allah—can save its followers from punishment on the Day of Judgment.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah Al-Anbiya, which discusses various prophets and themes of monotheism versus polytheism. It is addressed to the Meccan polytheists who worshipped idols and created partners with Allah, serving as a stern warning of the consequences of shirk (associating partners with Allah).
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever dies while associating partners with Allah will enter Hell,' (Sahih Muslim 93). Additionally, the Prophet warned about the fate of idols and their worshippers on the Day of Judgment in various traditions found in Sunan Ibn Majah and Jami' at-Tirmidhi.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that no created being—whether revered figures or inanimate idols—can intercede or protect those who associate them with Allah in worship. Muslims must ensure their worship is solely directed to Allah alone, as the Day of Judgment will expose the emptiness of all false devotions and their adherents will face severe consequences.
Related Ayahs
وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَـٰضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
And [mention] the man of the fish [i.e., Jonah], when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."
قُلْ مَن يَكْلَؤُكُم بِٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ۗ بَلْ هُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِم مُّعْرِضُونَ
Say, "Who can protect you at night or by day from the Most Merciful?" But they are, from the remembrance of their Lord, turning away.
قَالَ بَل رَّبُّكُمْ رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلَّذِى فَطَرَهُنَّ وَأَنَا۠ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكُم مِّنَ ٱلشَّـٰهِدِينَ
He said, "[No], rather, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth who created them, and I, to that, am of those who testify.
إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِۦ مَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلتَّمَاثِيلُ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَـٰكِفُونَ
When he said to his father and his people, "What are these statues to which you are devoted?"