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Explanatory Note
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. The advocates of neo-paganism address their appeals to those who have physical power on earth, taking them as patrons instead of God. But these patrons cannot offer them any support or even help themselves when God’s will is done at its appointed time. If the primitive deities of the pagan Arabs could not hear, and their eyes were made of pearls or diamonds giving the appearance of looking without actually seeing, some of the new deities are also unable to see or hear.