Surah Nahl ayat 20 Tafsir Quran 16:20

﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْئًا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ﴾
[ النحل: 20]

16:20 And those they invoke other than Allah create nothing, and they [themselves] are created.

And those whom you invoke tad‘ūna or read yad‘una ‘they invoke’ besides God namely the idols do not create anything but are themselves created fashioned from stones and other materials.

And those whom they invoke besides Him are incapable of creating an entity of any kind. On the contrary, they themselves have been created

The gods of the Idolators are Created, they do not create Then Allah tells us that the idols which people call on instead of Him cannot create anything, they are themselves created, as Al-Khalil ( Ibrahim ) said: قَالَ أَتَعْبُدُونَ مَا تَنْحِتُونَ - وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ( "Do you worship that which you (yourselves ) carve While Allah has created you and what you make!") ( 37:-96 ). أَمْوتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَآءٍ ( (They are ) dead, not alive) means, they are inanimate and lifeless, they do not hear, see, or think. وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ ( and they know not when they will be resurrected. ) meaning, they do not know when the Hour will come, so how can anyone hope for any benefit or reward from these idols They should hope for it from the One Who knows all things and is the Creator of all things.

The gods of the Idolators are Created, they do not create Then Allah tells us that the idols which people call on instead of Him cannot create anything, they are themselves created, as Al-Khalil ( Ibrahim ) said: قَالَ أَتَعْبُدُونَ مَا تَنْحِتُونَ - وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ( "Do you worship that which you (yourselves ) carve While Allah has created you and what you make!") ( 37:-96 ). أَمْوتٌ غَيْرُ أَحْيَآءٍ ( (They are ) dead, not alive) means, they are inanimate and lifeless, they do not hear, see, or think. وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ ( and they know not when they will be resurrected. ) meaning, they do not know when the Hour will come, so how can anyone hope for any benefit or reward from these idols They should hope for it from the One Who knows all things and is the Creator of all things.

( Those unto whom they cry ) they worship ( beside Allah created naught ) they cannot create anything like Our creation, ( but are themselves created ) they are themselves carved.

Those whom they (Al-Mushrikun) invoke besides Allah have not created anything, but are themselves created.

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