وَلَئِن سَأَلتَهُم مَن خَلَقَهُم لَيَقولُنَّ اللَّهُ ۖ فَأَنّىٰ يُؤفَكونَ
If you ask them: ‘Who created them?’ they will surely say: ‘Allah.’ Then where do they stray?
EXEGESIS
Layaqūlunna (they will surely say) is composed of three segments: the emphatic prefix lām which is used to add emphasis, the imperfect verb, and the suffixed emphatic particle, which is known as the nūn of emphasis. This grammatical intensification subtly reflects the mixed religious identity of the Quraysh – a blend of the monotheism inherited from their forefathers Prophet Abraham (a) and Prophet Ishmael (a), and the polytheistic practices adopted from neighbouring nations. By employing such emphasis, the Quran underscores their insistence that they were still adhering to the religion of Prophet Abraham (a).
Faʾannā (then where) is composed of the consequential resumption particle fa (then) and the interrogative noun annā (where). The fa indicates sequence and is employed here to express astonishment at their polytheism – despite their own acknowledgment that Allah is their Creator.
Yuʾfakūn (they stray) is derived from the infinitive ifk which refers to anything diverted from its proper course. From this meaning, deviating winds that turn away from their proper directions are called muʾtafikah. A lie is called ifk because it is turned away from its reality. As such, the current verse indicates that the disbelievers were turning towards other than Allah whilst knowing that Allah is their Creator, which is a clear deviation and turning away from the truth. The passive voice indicates that they are diverted away from what their innate nature calls them to, as if they are being driven involuntarily and against their will.
EXPOSITION
This verse, which is one of the final verses of this chapter, mirrors verse 9, If you ask them: ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will surely say: ‘The All-Mighty, the All-Knowing created them’. This type of expression has been used four times in the Quran, showing that it was a well-known fact that the polytheists accepted unity in creation (al-tawḥīd fī al-khāliqiyyah) (29:61, 31:25, 43:9, and 39:38. See 10:31, 23:84-89, and 29:63 for similar confessions).
Exegetes have differed as to the reality of this confession. Some, such as Jubbāʾī, assert that this belief in Allah as the creator was something that they had inherited from their forefathers and was not something based on rational evidence or inner cognition. The religious outlook of the Arabs before Islam can be described as a mixture of monotheistic remnants inherited from the time of Prophet Abraham (a) and later polytheistic influences absorbed from surrounding nations. The Abrahamic legacy remained visible in their reverence for the Kaaba, the rites of hajj, circumcision, and their continued association with the term ḥanīf. However, these elements were gradually corrupted by imported idol worship. Over time, the pure worship of God was blended with pagan rituals, distorted devotional formulas, reverence for idols around the Kaaba, and customs borrowed from neighbouring religious traditions. Thus, their faith was not simple atheism or pure idolatry, but a confused mixture: traces of Prophet Abraham’s (a) monotheism remained, yet that had been overlaid with foreign polytheistic practices.
Most exegetes, however, point to the inner recognition embedded deep within every person that pushes them to attest to God being the sole Creator of the universe. This inner recognition surfaces especially in moments of questioning – when they are confronted directly about the truth, their answers often contradict their outward claims, as if the question stirs their buried conscience. This is a common human tendency; many people profess beliefs or positions that are not genuine, only to admit the opposite when pressed sincerely. The effect is particularly pronounced when the question comes from a figure of strong moral and spiritual authority, such as Prophet Muhammad (s).
From a different angle, most exegetes opine that this verse is concerned with polytheism in worship. The Quran also describes why the polytheists turned to their idols in worship even though they verbally claimed that Allah was the Creator, we only worship them so that they may bring us near to Allah (39:3). This is similar to what the polytheists of ʿĀd and Thamūd also claimed, whom they had taken, besides Allah, as gods, as means of nearness [to Him] (46:28). At other times, they would claim, These are our intercessors with Allah (10:18).
The vast majority of disbelievers, therefore, considered idols as intermediaries and intercessors who would bring them nearer to Allah. To this, they added the pretext that our object of worship must be a tangible and perceptible entity with which we can feel familiar, and so they worshipped them. Therefore, whenever they were asked about their Creator, they would say: ‘Allah.’ The Quran has repeatedly reminded us of the truth that worship is only befitting for the Creator and Sustainer of this universe. If you know that Allah is the Creator and Sustainer, then nothing remains for you but to restrict your worship to Him alone and dedicate it solely to Him.
Some exegetes, however, opine that the verse is indicating towards polytheism in the realm of managing the affairs of the universe (rubūbiyyah). Based on this, the verse indicates that professing belief in the oneness of the Creator necessitates belief in the oneness of the Lord and that there is an unbreakable connection between the two. Administration and management, which is the essence of lordship, is inseparable from creation.
In light of the narrations that shall be mentioned, this verse can be seen as stating a general principle, that if one were to question any disbeliever, not only the polytheists of Mecca at the time of the Prophet, if they were being honest and not obstinate, then they would have no choice but to confess in Allah being the Creator. Such is the belief in God so clear and innate.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Abū Hāshim al-Jaʿfarī reports: ‘I asked Imam al-Jawād (a): “What is the meaning of [Allah being] the One (al-wāḥid)?” He (a) replied: “The consensus of all tongues upon His oneness (wahdāniyyah), like His saying, If you ask them: ‘Who created them?’ they will surely say: ‘Allah.’”’
- It has been reported from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) regarding the verse, When your Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them bear witness over themselves (7:172): ‘That was a direct witnessing of Allah. Then He caused them to forget that direct witnessing but affirmed the acknowledgement in their hearts. Were it not for that, no one would know his Creator or his Sustainer. And that is the meaning of Allah’s saying, If you ask them: ‘Who created them?’ they will surely say: ‘Allah.’’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some exegetes opine that yuʾfakūn means to fabricate a lie and thus the verse is lambasting the polytheists for fabricating the lie that God obligated them to worship the idols, or their lie in claiming divinity for their idols.
Other exegetes maintain that it means ‘to turn away’, but the object of turning away is belief in the resurrection, based on the mention of the hour in the previous verses. As such, the verse would read: So how are they turned away from believing in the resurrection? (on the grounds that re-creation is easier than initial creation).
Some exegetes suggest that the pronoun in If you ask them could possibly be referring to the false deities.
Maududi suggests that one other way of reading the verse is: If you ask them who created their gods, they will say: ‘Allah.’
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?
[1] Alusi, 13/106.
[2] Raghib, p. 79.
[3] Rahnama, 17/116.
[4] Hadi, 3/276.
[5] Munyah, 25/165.
[6] Tibyan, 9/184.
[7] Mizan, 10/285-287.
[8] Hadi, 3/276.
[9] Tabrisi, 9/90; Tibyan, 9/222; Maraghi, 25/116; Muhit, 9/392.
[10] Amthal, 16/109-110.
[11] Rahnama, 17/116; Qaraati, 8/481.
[12] Rahnama, 17/116.
[13] Daqaiq, 12/107.
[14] Kafi, 1/117.
[15] Mahasin, 1/281.
[16] Razi, 27/649.
[17] Qurtubi, 16/123; Atyab, 12/65.
[18] Baydawi, 5/98; Daqaiq, 12/107; Alusi, 13/106.
[19] Maududi, https://islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=43&verse=68.
[20] Job 12:9-10.