وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ يُؤْفَكُونَ 87
Translations
And if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, "Allāh." So how are they deluded?
Transliteration
Wa-la-in sa-alta-hum man khala-qa-hum la-yaqoolunna Allahu fa-anna yu-ofakoon
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents a powerful rhetorical argument: if you ask the polytheists who created them, they will unhesitatingly affirm that Allah alone is their Creator, yet despite this acknowledgment, they turn away from monotheism and associate partners with Him. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that this demonstrates the Quraysh's cognitive dissonance—they possessed knowledge of Allah's unity in their hearts but were diverted by custom, pride, and worldly desires from following this truth. The rhetorical question 'fa-anna yu-ofakoon' (how then are they turned away?) underscores the irrationality and inexcusability of their polytheistic practices.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Az-Zukhruf's broader argument against the Meccan polytheists' shirk (associating partners with Allah). The surah refutes their excuses and idolatrous practices by demonstrating the logical inconsistency of their beliefs—they acknowledge Allah as Creator while worshipping idols. This reflects the context of early Meccan opposition to Prophet Muhammad's monotheistic message.
Related Hadiths
The theme is reinforced in hadith literature: Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Every child is born upon the fitrah (natural inclination toward monotheism), but his parents make him Jewish, Christian, or Magian' (Sahih Bukhari 1319). This connects to the ayah's implication that natural human recognition of Allah exists but is corrupted by societal influences.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that rejecting divine truth often stems not from intellectual inability but from willful turning away—we must examine our hearts for hidden attachments and societal pressures that distance us from God's guidance. The ayah reminds believers to trust in the inherent rationality of tawhid and to appeal to people's innate recognition of Allah's unity when calling them to Islam.