Surah Al-An'am — Verse 71

Word Meanings:

• Anad'u – "Shall we call upon" – meaning, shall we worship and invoke?
• Ma la yanfa'una wa la yadurruna – "That which neither benefits us nor harms us" – referring to idols and false deities that possess no power whatsoever.
• Nuraddu 'ala a'qabina – "And we are turned back on our heels" – meaning, we revert to disbelief and apostasy after having been guided.
• Istawhat-hu al-shayateen – "Whom the devils have enticed away" – meaning, they have led him astray and confused his mind until he lost all sense of direction.
• Hayran – "Bewildered" – confused, wandering without knowing which way to go.
• Li-nuslima – "That we submit" – to surrender ourselves wholly to Allah in obedience and worship.

Explanation of the Verse:

O Messenger, say to these idolaters who call you to return to the worship of their false gods: "Shall we abandon the worship of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, and instead call upon idols and deities that possess no power to benefit us if we worship them, nor to harm us if we abandon them? Shall we turn back to disbelief and polytheism after Allah has guided us to the light of faith and rescued us from the darkness of ignorance?"

Then Allah presents a powerful and moving parable: Such a person who turns back to disbelief after guidance is like a man who has been lured by devils into a desolate land, wandering in confusion and terror, not knowing where to go. His mind is clouded, his path is lost, and he is utterly bewildered. Yet, he has sincere and wise companions standing on the straight path, calling out to him with compassion: "Come back to us! Come to guidance and safety!" But he refuses to answer them, preferring his state of confusion over the security of the right path.

Then Allah instructs His Messenger to declare clearly: "Indeed, the guidance of Allah – the guidance He has sent through His prophets and revealed in His books – that alone is true guidance. Nothing else deserves to be called guidance, for all other paths lead to ruin."

And finally, the verse concludes with the divine command: "And we have been commanded to submit to the Lord of all the worlds" – meaning, we are ordered to surrender our hearts, our wills, and our entire beings to Allah alone, the Creator and Sovereign of everything, worshipping Him with sincere devotion and obeying His commands without reservation.

A Call to Reflection and Action:

This verse is a profound invitation to every soul to pause and reflect: What are we worshipping? Are we bowing to the Creator of the heavens and the earth, or are we prostrating to creations that cannot even protect themselves? The idols of this world are not only stones and statues – they are also wealth, status, desires, and fleeting pleasures that enslave the heart. Yet none of these can truly benefit or harm us; only Allah holds that power.

The parable in this verse is a mirror for our own lives. When we turn away from Allah's guidance, we become like that bewildered man in the desert – lost, anxious, and confused, even if we appear successful on the outside. But the call of faith is always there: the call of the Qur'an, the call of the Prophet ﷺ, and the call of sincere believers around us, saying: "Come to guidance! Come to peace! Come to the path that leads to eternal success!"

The beauty of Islam is that it does not leave us in confusion. It gives us clarity: *"Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance."* It gives us purpose: to submit to the Lord of all worlds. And it gives us hope: no matter how far we have wandered, the door of repentance is always open, and the call of truth continues to reach us.

So let us answer that call today. Let us not be like the one who hears the truth yet turns away. Let us be among those who say: "We hear and we obey. We submit to You, O Lord of all worlds." For in that submission lies true freedom, true peace, and true success in this life and the next.