Surah Ahqaf ayat 28 Tafsir Quran 46:28

﴿فَلَوْلَا نَصَرَهُمُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ قُرْبَانًا آلِهَةً ۖ بَلْ ضَلُّوا عَنْهُمْ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ إِفْكُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ﴾
[ الأحقاف: 28]

46:28 Then why did those they took besides Allah as deities by which to approach [Him] not aid them? But they had strayed from them. And that was their falsehood and what they were inventing.

So why did they not help them by averting from them the chastisement those whom they had chosen besides God that is to say other than Him as a means of nearness through whom they may secure nearness to God to be gods? alongside Him and these are the idols the first object of ittakhadhū ‘they had chosen’ is the omitted pronoun referred to by the relative clause alladhīna ‘those who …’ and it is hum ‘they’; qurbānan ‘nearness’ is the second object with ālihatan ‘gods’ as its substitution. Nay but they forsook them when the chastisement came down on them and that that is to say that choosing of theirs of idols as gods as a means of nearness to God was their lie and what they used to invent — the lies they used to speak mā ‘what’ either relates to the verbal action ‘their lying’ or it indicates a relative clause with the referential pronoun omitted this being fīhi ‘about’.

Did those whom they worshipped in accession to Allah afford them aid or! assistance Never. Contrarily, they could not find them, and it serves them right; they befooled the minds and the judgment of the people so as to cause what is false to be accepted as true

وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ سَمْعاً وَأَبْصَـراً وَأَفْئِدَةً فَمَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَـرُهُمْ وَلاَ أَفْئِدَتُهُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ إِذْ كَانُواْ يَجْحَدُونَ بِـَايَـتِ اللَّهِ وَحَاقَ بِهم مَّا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ ( We also gave them hearing, vision, and hearts.
But their hearing, vision, and hearts availed them nothing when they used to deny Allah's signs, and they were completely encircled by that which they used to ridicule! ) meaning, they were encircled by the torment and exemplary punishment that they denied and whose occurrence they doubted.
This means, you listeners must beware of being like them lest a punishment similar to theirs strikes you in this life and the Hereafter.
Allah then says, وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا مَا حَوْلَكُمْ مِّنَ الْقُرَى ( And indeed We have destroyed towns round about you, ) This is addressed to the people of Makkah.
Allah destroyed the nations who disbelieved in the Messengers who lived around Makkah, such as `Ad who were at Al-Ahqaf in Hadramawt near Yemen, Thamud whose dwellings were between Makkah and Ash-Sham ( Greater Syria ), Saba' who were in Yemen, the people of Madyan who were on the route and passage to Ghazzah ( Western Palestine ), and the people of Lut who dwelt by the lake ( the Dead Sea ) which they used to pass by ( on the way to Jordan ) as well.
Allah then says, وَصَرَّفْنَا الاٌّيَـتِ ( and We have shown (them ) the signs in various ways) meaning, `We explained and clarified them.' لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَفَلَوْلاَ نَصَرَهُمُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ قُرْبَاناً ءَالِهَةَ ( so that perhaps they might return.
As for those whom they had taken for gods besides Allah, as the means of approach to Him, why then did they not aid them ) meaning, did they help them when they were in the greatest need for them بَلْ ضَلُّواْ عَنْهُمْ ( but they vanished completely from them. ) Rather, they completely left them alone when they needed them the most. وَذَلِكَ إِفْكُهُمْ ( And that was their falsehood, ) meaning, their lie. وَمَا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ ( and what they were fabricating. ) which means that they fabricated lies by taking them as gods, and they lost and failed in their worship of them and their reliance upon them -- and Allah knows best.

(46:28) So why did those whom they had set up as gods apart from Allah, hoping that they would bring them nearer to Him, not come to their aid? *32 Instead, they failed them. This was the end of the lie they had fabricated and the false beliefs they had invented.

Then why did those they took besides meaning

*32) That is, " They had put faith in those things in the beginning with the idea that they were favourite servants of God and through them they would attain nearness to Him, but then gradually they made them their gods.
They started invoking them for help; they formed the belief that they had the powers to change their destinies and could answer their prayers and remove their hardships. " To deliver them from this error Allah sent His Revelations through His Messengers over and over again in different ways to bring them to the right path, but they persisted m the worship of their gods, and continued to insist that they would still invoke them instead of Allah.
Now consider this: When the torment of Allah visited these polytheists because of their deviation, where had their redressers of grievances and removers of hardships disappeared? Why didn't they come to their rescue at the time of affliction?
 

وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ سَمْعاً وَأَبْصَـراً وَأَفْئِدَةً فَمَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَـرُهُمْ وَلاَ أَفْئِدَتُهُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ إِذْ كَانُواْ يَجْحَدُونَ بِـَايَـتِ اللَّهِ وَحَاقَ بِهم مَّا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ ( We also gave them hearing, vision, and hearts.
But their hearing, vision, and hearts availed them nothing when they used to deny Allah's signs, and they were completely encircled by that which they used to ridicule! ) meaning, they were encircled by the torment and exemplary punishment that they denied and whose occurrence they doubted.
This means, you listeners must beware of being like them lest a punishment similar to theirs strikes you in this life and the Hereafter.
Allah then says, وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا مَا حَوْلَكُمْ مِّنَ الْقُرَى ( And indeed We have destroyed towns round about you, ) This is addressed to the people of Makkah.
Allah destroyed the nations who disbelieved in the Messengers who lived around Makkah, such as `Ad who were at Al-Ahqaf in Hadramawt near Yemen, Thamud whose dwellings were between Makkah and Ash-Sham ( Greater Syria ), Saba' who were in Yemen, the people of Madyan who were on the route and passage to Ghazzah ( Western Palestine ), and the people of Lut who dwelt by the lake ( the Dead Sea ) which they used to pass by ( on the way to Jordan ) as well.
Allah then says, وَصَرَّفْنَا الاٌّيَـتِ ( and We have shown (them ) the signs in various ways) meaning, `We explained and clarified them.' لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَفَلَوْلاَ نَصَرَهُمُ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ قُرْبَاناً ءَالِهَةَ ( so that perhaps they might return.
As for those whom they had taken for gods besides Allah, as the means of approach to Him, why then did they not aid them ) meaning, did they help them when they were in the greatest need for them بَلْ ضَلُّواْ عَنْهُمْ ( but they vanished completely from them. ) Rather, they completely left them alone when they needed them the most. وَذَلِكَ إِفْكُهُمْ ( And that was their falsehood, ) meaning, their lie. وَمَا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ ( and what they were fabricating. ) which means that they fabricated lies by taking them as gods, and they lost and failed in their worship of them and their reliance upon them -- and Allah knows best.

( Then why did those whom they had chosen for ) worshipped as ( gods as a way of approach (unto Allah )) as a means to bring them closer to Allah ( not help them? (Nay, but they did fail them utterly ) that which they worshipped is made void. ( And (all ) that was their lie, and what they used to invent) and what they used to lie about Allah.

Then why did those whom they had taken for aliha (gods) besides Allah, as a way of approach (to Allah) not help them? Nay, but they vanished completely from them (when there came the torment). And that was their lie, and their inventions which they had been inventing (before their destruction).

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