قُل لَّوْ كَانَ مَعَهُۥٓ ءَالِهَةٌ كَمَا يَقُولُونَ إِذًا لَّٱبْتَغَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِى ٱلْعَرْشِ سَبِيلًا 42
Translations
Say, [O Muḥammad], "If there had been with Him [other] gods, as they say, then they [each] would have sought to the Owner of the Throne a way."
Transliteration
Qul law kana ma'ahu alihatun kama yaqulun idhan labtaghaw ila dhi al-'arsh sabila
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the Prophet Muhammad to tell the polytheists: if there were truly other gods alongside Allah as they claim, these gods would certainly seek a way to reach the Throne of Allah to challenge His sovereignty. This ayah employs logical reasoning to refute polytheism—if multiple gods existed, they would necessarily compete for dominion, which is rationally impossible and contradicts the observable order of creation. As Ibn Kathir explains, this demonstrates the absurdity of shirk (associating partners with Allah) through rational argumentation, showing that monotheism alone maintains cosmic harmony.
Revelation Context
Revealed in Mecca during a period of intense polytheistic opposition to the Prophet's message. This ayah is part of a broader section (17:39-48) refuting the false claims and idolatry of the Meccan disbelievers, using logical proofs to establish Allah's absolute uniqueness and incomparable majesty.
Related Hadiths
The concept relates to the hadith in Sahih Bukhari where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'The most grievous sin is to associate partners with Allah.' Additionally, Sunan At-Tirmidhi records the Prophet's teaching that 'whoever meets Allah with partners (shirk) shall enter the Fire.'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to understand that true faith is grounded in reason and logic—Allah's oneness is not only spiritually necessary but logically inevitable, as any competing authority would naturally seek dominion. For modern Muslims, this provides intellectual confidence in the rationality of Islamic belief against materialist and pluralistic worldviews.
Related Ayahs
قُل لِّمَن مَّا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ قُل لِّلَّهِ ۚ كَتَبَ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ٱلرَّحْمَةَ ۚ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ ۚ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Say, "To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and earth?" Say, "To Allāh." He has decreed upon Himself mercy. He will surely assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Those who will lose themselves [that Day] do not believe.
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ فَٱعْبُدِ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصًا لَّهُ ٱلدِّينَ
Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book, [O Muḥammad], in truth. So worship Allāh, [being] sincere to Him in religion.
لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا تَحْتَ ٱلثَّرَىٰ
To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is between them and what is under the soil.
ضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا رَّجُلًا فِيهِ شُرَكَآءُ مُتَشَـٰكِسُونَ وَرَجُلًا سَلَمًا لِّرَجُلٍ هَلْ يَسْتَوِيَانِ مَثَلًا ۚ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Allāh presents an example: a man [i.e., slave] owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one man - are they equal in comparison? Praise be to Allāh! But most of them do not know.