أَأَتَّخِذُ مِن دونِهِ آلِهَةً إِن يُرِدنِ الرَّحمٰنُ بِضُرٍّ لا تُغنِ عَنّي شَفاعَتُهُم شَيئًا وَلا يُنقِذونِ
Shall I take gods besides Him? If the All-Beneficent desired to cause me any distress, their intercession will not avail me in any way, nor will they rescue me.
EXEGESIS
A-ʾattakhidhu (shall I take) is a rhetorical question used for disapproval, irony, and denial of the following phrase. In other words, the interrogative is used here for disapproval.
Ḍurr (distress) means harm, injury, hurt, damage, mischief, or an evil state or condition, such as bodily affliction or poverty.
Lā tughni (not avail me) is originally from root gh-n-y, which signifies a state of competency or sufficiency, making a person in no need, free from want, or becoming wealthy. Therefore, in this verse, the believer was stressing upon the decree of God that supersedes and overrides every other decree. Even though these idols do not harm or benefit, however, even if they would intercede, their intercession would be overridden by the will and power of the Almighty, hence these idols would be useless and unable to suffice anyone from Him.
Shafāʿatuhum (their intercession); intercession is defined as pleading or a petition for someone to a person mainly in a higher position or station, such as a prince who could adjoin to aid that person in front of the king, or some other person who would respect the intercessor. The aim would be to bypass punishment or forgive sins, crimes, or misdeeds. The believer in this verse was creating doubts in the minds of his people about the idols’ ability to intercede, and thus they were useless.
EXPOSITION
Ḥabīb continued his argument with the people of the town and posed a question: how can he worship deities other than God, for these deities do not have any capacity to intercede for him, or even defend him, or relieve him from the All-Beneficent if He wanted to destroy him or cause him harm, or any undesired condition.
Tabatabai points out that referring to the All-Beneficent (al-raḥmān), by itself is to signify that He is the source of every bounty and that all the blessings in the creation are from His mercy. All mercy originates from Him, regardless of such mercy being managed by Him directly or indirectly, such as through the angels; all such would indicate the oneness in His lordship and divinity.
As mentioned previously, Ḥabīb used a polite method of communication by speaking about himself so that others could apply what he said to themselves, rather than talking about them and questioning them directly. He expressed his personal experience in his arguments, then shifted towards warning them, reminding them about the hereafter. In this verse, he returns to expressing his personal thoughts, indicating his intention to avoid being superior to them. In reality, he was questioning what the polytheists believed, that these idols would intercede for them towards God. He wanted to prove that these idols were useless, worthless, and dependent on their worshippers to help and protect them.
It seems that these people commonly addressed God by the name al-raḥmān; such is observed in the previous verse (15) when the polytheists said: You are nothing but humans like us, and the All-Beneficent (al-raḥmān) has not sent down anything, and you are only lying. In this verse, Ḥabīb is bringing to their attention that even though He is all-merciful, if He wants to punish evil, He would, and these helpless idols would not be able to intercede nor save the one being punished.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam Ali (a) said: ‘O Allah! Great is Thy kingdom and exalted is Thy greatness. Thy plan is secret, Thy authority is manifest, Thy might is victorious and subduing, Thy power is prevalent throughout, and it is not possible to escape from Thy dominion. O Allah! Except Thee I do not find anyone able to pardon my sins, conceal my loathsome acts, nor have anyone except Thee to change my evil deeds into virtues … My God! My Nourisher! Have I anyone except Thee from whom I can seek the dislodging of my evils and understanding of my problems? … I can find no escape from what was done by me and have no refuge to which I could turn except seeking Thy acceptance of my excuse and admitting me into the realm of Thy capacious mercy, O Allah! Accept my apology, pity my intense sufferings, and set me free from my heavy fetters [of evil deeds].’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
A few interesting points can be observed in this verse: firstly, the question posed by Ḥabīb, which had an implicit reason for his rejection of idols. If it were not in an interrogative form, people would have asked him for a reason for his rejection, and when he posed it in such a form, he provoked their thoughts to think of an answer. Secondly, he says besides Him after mentioning Him who has originated me, indicating that since I worship my Originator, how can I even think of worshipping gods besides Him, because everything besides the Originator is needy, dependent, and finite. Thirdly, he says Shall I take, indicating that other gods than the Originator God are not real and cannot be taken as deities.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone, and no one is left, enslaved person or free. He will say: “Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter! See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death, and I bring to life, I have wounded, and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.”
- This is what the Lord says … ‘Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm, nor can they do any good.’ No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. Who should not fear you, king of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you … “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding … The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them. They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.”
[1] Lane, p. 1.
[2] Lane, p. 2302.
[3] Lane, p. 1572.
[4] Tabrisi, 8/658.
[5] Mizan, 17/77.
[6] Amthal, 14/158.
[7] Hussain Rahim, Duʿa Kumail, a translation and commentary, < https://www.al-islam.org/dua-kumayl-translation-commentary-husein-rahim/dua-kumayl-translation-commentary >.
[8] Razi, 26/267.
[9] Deuteronomy 32:36-39.
[10] Jeremiah 10:1-2, 5-7, 11-12, 14-15.