لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ نَصْرَهُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُمْ جُندٌ مُّحْضَرُونَ 75
Translations
They are not able to help them, and they [themselves] are for them soldiers in attendance.
Transliteration
La yastati'ūna naṣrahum wa hum lahum jundun muḥḍarūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the idols that the polytheists worshipped, emphasizing that these false deities are completely powerless—they cannot help or support their worshippers, yet the worshippers themselves stand ready as obedient soldiers serving these lifeless objects. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as a powerful critique of shirk (polytheism), highlighting the absurdity of serving and preparing oneself for entities that possess no capability whatsoever to provide aid or benefit.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the latter portion of Surah Ya-Sin, which addresses the polytheists of Mecca and their rejection of tawhid (monotheism). The context is the broader Meccan period's confrontation with idol worship, where the Quran repeatedly exposes the logical inconsistency and futility of attributing power to created objects while neglecting the One True God.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The worst of mankind are those who worship idols and those who kill the prophets unjustly' (Sahih Bukhari 3461). Additionally, the Prophet warned against any form of shirk, saying 'Whoever dies while associating partners with Allah will enter the Hellfire' (Sahih Muslim 93).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches us that placing hope and devotion in anything other than Allah—whether idols, people, wealth, or status—is fundamentally futile and self-deceptive. True strength and security come only from complete reliance on and submission to Allah alone.
Related Ayahs
وَٱلشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِيمِ
And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.
وَٱلْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَـٰهُ مَنَازِلَ حَتَّىٰ عَادَ كَٱلْعُرْجُونِ ٱلْقَدِيمِ
And the moon - We have determined for it phases, until it returns [appearing] like the old date stalk.
وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ ٱلَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ ٱلنَّهَارَ فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ
And a sign for them is the night. We remove from it the [light of] day, so they are [left] in darkness.
قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا تَطَيَّرْنَا بِكُمْ ۖ لَئِن لَّمْ تَنتَهُوا۟ لَنَرْجُمَنَّكُمْ وَلَيَمَسَّنَّكُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
They said, "Indeed, we consider you a bad omen. If you do not desist, we will surely stone you, and there will surely touch you, from us, a painful punishment."