أَوْ يَنفَعُونَكُمْ أَوْ يَضُرُّونَ 73
Translations
Or do they benefit you, or do they harm?"
Transliteration
Aw yanfa'oonakum aw yaḍurroon
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah is part of Prophet Ibrahim's (Abraham's) argument against his people's idolatry, questioning whether their idols can benefit or harm them. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari explain that Ibrahim uses logical reasoning to demonstrate the futility of worshipping lifeless objects that possess no power over anything. This rhetorical question serves as a powerful refutation of shirk (associating partners with Allah), establishing that only Allah possesses the authority to benefit or cause harm.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears within Surah Ash-Shu'ara, a Meccan surah that recounts the stories of various prophets and their calls to monotheism. The context here is Ibrahim's confrontation with his idolatrous people, where he systematically dismantles their false beliefs through rational argument, making this part of the broader Quranic theme of tawhid (monotheism) and refutation of polytheism.
Related Hadiths
The principle reflected here aligns with the hadith in Sahih Muslim where the Prophet ﷺ said: 'Know that if the entire nation gathered together to benefit you with something, they could not benefit you except with what Allah has written for you; and if they gathered together to harm you with something, they could not harm you except with what Allah has written for you.' This emphasizes that only Allah controls harm and benefit.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to recognize that ultimate power, benefit, and harm rest solely with Allah, liberating them from fear of created beings and things. It encourages using reason and logical discourse when inviting others to Islam, as Ibrahim exemplified in his gentle yet compelling refutation of false beliefs.
Related Ayahs
إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ وَٱلْفُلْكِ ٱلَّتِى تَجْرِى فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ ٱلنَّاسَ وَمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مِن مَّآءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ ٱلرِّيَـٰحِ وَٱلسَّحَابِ ٱلْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the [great] ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allāh has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every [kind of] moving creature, and [His] directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and earth are signs for a people who use reason.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نُحْىِۦ وَنُمِيتُ وَإِلَيْنَا ٱلْمَصِيرُ
Indeed, it is We who give life and cause death, and to Us is the destination
۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَا ۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَآ إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنۢ بَعْدِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا
Indeed, Allāh holds the heavens and the earth, lest they cease. And if they should cease, no one could hold them [in place] after Him. Indeed, He is Forbearing and Forgiving.
۞ وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَٰهِيمُ لِأَبِيهِ ءَازَرَ أَتَتَّخِذُ أَصْنَامًا ءَالِهَةً ۖ إِنِّىٓ أَرَىٰكَ وَقَوْمَكَ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], when Abraham said to his father Āzar, "Do you take idols as deities? Indeed, I see you and your people to be in manifest error."