۞ وَقَالَ ٱللَّهُ لَا تَتَّخِذُوٓا۟ إِلَـٰهَيْنِ ٱثْنَيْنِ ۖ إِنَّمَا هُوَ إِلَـٰهٌ وَٰحِدٌ ۖ فَإِيَّـٰىَ فَٱرْهَبُونِ 51
Translations
And Allāh has said, "Do not take for yourselves two deities. He [i.e., Allāh] is but one God, so fear only Me."
Transliteration
Wa qalallahu la tattakhidhu ilahayni ithnain, innama huwa ilahun wahid, fa-iyyaya farhbun
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the believers not to take two gods, emphasizing the absolute oneness of Allah (Tawhid). Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that this ayah represents a divine prohibition against polytheism and shirk, establishing that Allah alone is worthy of worship and fear. The phrase 'so fear Me alone' (fa-iyyaya farhbun) demonstrates that fear and reverence are due exclusively to the One God, not to idols or false deities.
Revelation Context
Revealed in Mecca during the early Islamic period when the polytheists of Quraysh were deeply entrenched in idol worship. This ayah addresses the fundamental message of Islamic monotheism and refutes the pagan Arab practice of associating partners with Allah, making it a cornerstone of the Meccan revelation's emphasis on Tawhid.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever dies without associating partners with Allah will enter Paradise' (Sahih Muslim 93). Additionally, the hadith 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah' (Sahih Bukhari 2654) directly relates to the warning in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that true submission to Allah requires complete rejection of polytheism and recognition of His exclusive divinity, which should be reflected in genuine fear and reverence of Him alone, not through superstitious devotion to created beings or false gods.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ عِبَادٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ ۖ فَٱدْعُوهُمْ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ
Indeed, those you [polytheists] call upon besides Allāh are servants [i.e., creations] like you. So call upon them and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful.
وَلَقَدْ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَئِنْ أَشْرَكْتَ لَيَحْبَطَنَّ عَمَلُكَ وَلَتَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ
And it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate [anything] with Allāh, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers.
قُلِ ٱدْعُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَلَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُۥ مِنْهُم مِّن ظَهِيرٍ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Invoke those you claim [as deities] besides Allāh." They do not possess an atom's weight [of ability] in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant.
وَأَنَّهُۥ هُوَ رَبُّ ٱلشِّعْرَىٰ
And that it is He who is the Lord of Sirius.