Surah al-A`raf (The Elevated Places) 7 : 193

Overview (Verses 193 - 198)

A Call Foolishly Turned Down

The reference in the Qur’ān to deviation from the truth starting within the human soul as represented in the story of a married couple and the birth of their baby, applies to every form of polytheism and idolatry. It is intended to alert those who are to be addressed by the Qur’ān to the absolute folly of their idolatry that leads them to believe in those deities, which can neither create anything nor support their worshippers. They are indeed created; and they are powerless, unable to help themselves. This is their state whether they are human beings or of any other type. None of them can create or provide help. Now the sūrah changes the mode of relating a story in order to adopt a style that fits a direct confrontation with the pagan Arabs, but it continues the previous address.

If you call them to guidance they will not follow you. It is all the same whether you call them or keep silent. Those whom you invoke beside God are God’s servants, just like you. Invoke them, then, and let them answer you, if what you claim is true. Have they, perchance, feet on which they could walk, or hands with which to grasp things, or eyes with which to see, or ears with which to hear? (Verses 193-195)

Arab paganism was, as we have already explained, too foolish by the standards of any stage of the human intellect. Hence, the Qur’ān tries to alert the Arabs’ minds to their folly as they ascribed divinity to such deities. Those idols did not have feet with which to walk, hands with which to grasp, eyes with which to see, or ears with which to hear. Yet they themselves had these senses. How could they then worship statues made of stone that could not even do the things they themselves could do? Sometimes they considered these idols as symbols of the angels or of their own forefathers. Yet these were creatures like themselves who could not create anything or give support to anyone, because they themselves are created and cannot help themselves.

There was this apparent element of applying double standards in the beliefs of the pagan Arabs, vacillating between the physical idols and what they symbolized. We assume that this is the reason for the frequent change in the Qur’ānic address as it refers sometimes to these idols using the animate pronoun to point to the symbols behind them, and at others using the pronoun for inanimate objects to denote that the idols themselves are lifeless. Yet the whole concept of idolatry is apparently false by the pure standards of the simple human mind. Hence, the Qur’ān alerts our minds to the need to steer away from this unbecoming lack of awareness.

At the end of this argument, God directs His Messenger to challenge them together with all their powerless deities, and to declare his clear faith, acknowledging the patronage of God alone: “Say: ‘Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous. Those whom you invoke beside Him cannot give you any support, nor can they even help themselves. If you pray to them for guidance, they will not hear you. You may see them looking at you but they do not see.” (Verses 195-198)

This is the type of challenge, which an advocate of the true faith would throw to jāhiliyyah. God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said it exactly as his Lord directed him, and put the challenge to all his contemporary idolaters and their alleged deities: “Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite.” (Verse 195)

He invites them to muster all their scheming powers, and those of their deities, and to strike against him without waiting for a moment. As he threw out this challenge, he was fully confident, reassured that God would protect him against all their scheming: “My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.” (Verse 196) He thus declares what sort of support He relies on. He simply trusts to God who has revealed the Book. By this revelation, God has indicated His will that His Messenger should confront people with the truth embodied in that Book, and that He has willed that this truth will triumph over all falsehood. He has also willed to protect his righteous servants who convey His message believing in its truthfulness.

Abū Bakr, the Prophet’s closest companion, was subjected to much harm. The idolaters hit him in the face with their shoes, and directed their strikes at his eyes, so that when they left him, his eyes were indistinguishable from his mouth. Despite this wicked assault, he kept repeating: “My Lord, how forbearing You are! How great is Your forbearance!” Deep at heart, he realized what lay behind this attack on him and how forbearing God is. He was certain that God was fully able to destroy his enemies and that He would never let His good servants down.

The same challenge should be thrown down by every advocate of God’s message who follows in the footsteps of God’s Messenger (peace be upon him). It is the same challenge everywhere and at all times: “Say: ‘Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.’” (Verses 195-196) An advocate of the divine faith must not rely on any earthly power, instead he must rely only on God’s power. This will enable him to rise above all earthly powers. These are certainly of no substance, no matter how strong they may appear at first sight: “Mankind, an analogy is given here; so listen to it: Those whom you invoke instead of God will never create (as much as] a fly, even though they would join all their forces for the purpose. And if a fly robs them of anything, they cannot retrieve it. Weak indeed is the seeker, and weak the sought.” (22: 73) “Those who take beings other than God for their protectors may be compared to the spider which makes for itself a house. Surely the frailest of all houses is that of the spider, if they could only understand this.” (29: 41)

These were examples of that great generation which was brought up in line with the Qur’ānic teachings, under the guidance of Muhammad, the Prophet (peace be upon him), who fully understood his Lord’s instructions as He said to him: “Say: ‘Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.’” (Verses 195-196)

What happened after they had willingly tolerated all this aggression from scheming idolaters? What happened to them when they sought only the shelter of God who revealed the Book, and who is the patron of the righteous? This is well known in history. The eventual triumph and power belonged to God’s servants. Defeat and misery were the lot of the tyrants. Those of them who eventually responded positively to Islam joined the Muslim community where they had a lower position than those who were ahead of them in accepting the faith and who endured all hardship with a great trust in God. The advocates of the divine faith, wherever they may be and in whichever generation they may live, will not achieve anything unless they have such trust in God and such firm resolve to serve His cause: “My guardian is God who has bestowed the Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous.” (Verse 196)

God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was commanded to challenge the idolaters, and he did so. He was ordered to explain to them the powerlessness of their deities and the folly of believing in such deities, and he acted on his instructions: “Those whom you invoke beside Him cannot give you any support, nor can they even help themselves.” (Verse 197) Just as this statement applied to the primitive form of idols the Arabs used to have in their ancient ignorant days, it applies in equal measure to all deities claimed by modern states of ignorance, or jāhiliyyah.

An advocate of the divine faith normally finds himself confronting one of the numerous forms of jāhiliyyah. He must always adopt the attitude God has instructed His Messenger (peace be upon him) to adopt. He should always be ready to declare: “Appeal to those you claim to be partners with God, and scheme against me, and give me no respite. My guardian is God who has bestowed this Book from on high. It is He who is the guardian of the righteous. Those whom you invoke beside Him cannot give you any support, nor can they even help themselves. If you pray to them for guidance, they will not hear you. You may see them looking at you but they do not see.” (Verses 195-198) Indeed they are the same everywhere, and at all times.