وَٱتَّخَذُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ ءَالِهَةً لَّعَلَّهُمْ يُنصَرُونَ 74
Translations
But they have taken besides Allāh [false] deities that perhaps they would be helped.
Transliteration
Wa-ttakhazu min duni-Allahi alihatan la'allahum yunsarun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah condemns the polytheists for taking false deities besides Allah, hoping these idols would help or support them in times of need. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari emphasize that this represents the height of human folly—placing trust in powerless creations rather than the All-Powerful Creator. The ayah highlights the irrationality of shirk (associating partners with Allah), as these fabricated gods possess neither the ability to harm nor benefit their worshippers.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan Surah Ya-Sin, which addresses the polytheistic practices of the Quraysh who worshipped idols alongside or instead of Allah. The surah's broader context challenges idol worship and affirms Allah's absolute oneness and power, responding directly to the religious environment of pre-Islamic Arabia.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever dies while associating partners with Allah shall enter the Fire' (Sahih Bukhari 1385). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Muslim 93 reinforces that shirk is the greatest sin, as Allah says: 'Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills.'
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that seeking help from anything other than Allah is both spiritually destructive and logically absurd, reminding us that only Allah possesses true power and authority. In modern contexts, this extends to warn against placing ultimate trust in worldly means, material wealth, or human influence instead of relying on Allah as our ultimate source of support and guidance.