Man has always been in competition with his very own Creator and the sole master of the entire universe. Many make hand made idols to represnt their worldly gods as did idolaters did in times of Prophet Ibrahim(Abraha, may peace be upon him) or the people of Israel when the made a cow to represent god and wanted to worship till Prophet Musa (Moses, may peace be upon him) came and destroyed the cow made of gold.
Many still worship the idols even in present times while others assocate partners with one true God, we Muslims call Allah. Even many a women take human deities as friends of Allah, calling them Wali Allah, and prefer them more than the Allah. Many Muslims worship graves of the dead saints, while many others bow in front of living psudo saints for the redressal of their grievances and woes. It seems not much has changed since the advent of Islam. To caution these misguided, derailed and loose faith people, who commit the great unpardonable sin of shirk (associating / worshipping beings other than Allah, many a ayah / verses in Qur'an talk on the subject of shirk and helplessness of those whom people assocaite with Allah or worship idols.
Today, we share the 73rd verse from Surah Al Hajj, in which Allah explains the sin of shirk and inabaility of those whom people take their deities other than Allah in the shape of a parable as mentioned below.
يٰۤـاَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَاسۡتَمِعُوۡا لَهٗ ؕ اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ تَدۡعُوۡنَ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ لَنۡ يَّخۡلُقُوۡا ذُبَابًا وَّلَوِ اجۡتَمَعُوۡا لَهٗ ؕ وَاِنۡ يَّسۡلُبۡهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيۡـئًـا لَّا يَسۡتَـنۡـقِذُوۡهُ مِنۡهُ ؕ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالۡمَطۡلُوۡبُ
(22:73) "O people! A parable is presented, so listen to it carefully: Indeed, those you call upon besides Allah can never create [even] a fly, even if they all gathered for that purpose. And if the fly were to snatch away anything from them, they could not retrieve it from it. Weak are the pursuer and the pursued!"
The sūrah makes a powerful, universal declaration that all deities people associate with God, including the ones to which the wrongdoers appeal for help, are weak and powerless. Their weakness is shown in a bustling and captivating scene. The address is universal, it includes everyone anywhere in the world, and the declaration is loud and clear: “Mankind!” When people have been gathered to listen, they are told that they are about to be given a statement of a general principle, not a particular case applicable on a certain occasion. “An aphorism is set forth; hearken, then, to it.” It is a statement of fact that applies in all situations: “Those beings whom you invoke instead of God cannot create a fly, even though they were to join all their forces to that end.” All false deities, whether they be idols and statues, human beings, traditions and values, to whom you appeal for support and with whom you seek to achieve victory and high esteem, are incapable of creating a fly, even if they muster all their forces, utilize all their knowledge and channel all their resources into one supreme effort. Indeed, the creation of a mere fly, that small and abject creature, defies all the harnessed powers of such false gods.
Let us expand the meaning of the verse in detail:
Key Points from the Verse:
- Universal Call to Attention
- "O people! A parable is presented, so listen to it carefully..."
- Allah calls upon all people, not just Muslims, to reflect.
- The use of a parable (مثل) indicates a deep lesson wrapped in a simple example.
- Creating a fly is just as impossible, for anyone or thing other than God, as creating a camel or an elephant, because the fly also demonstrates the great secret of life. Hence, it is placed on the same level as camels and elephants, with regard to its miraculous creation. The Qur’ānic aphorism, however, cites the case of a little, insignificant fly in order to generate a more profound feeling of powerlessness, without compromising the underlying principle.
- Helplessness of False gods: The sūrah adds another dimension in describing their powerlessness: “If a fly robs them of anything, they cannot rescue it from him!” False deities, be they idols or humans, cannot retrieve anything from a fly when it robs them of it. Flies can rob people of that which is precious indeed. At the same time, a fly carries agents of some very serious diseases, such as tuberculosis, typhoid, dysentery and conjunctivitis. It can deprive a person of his eyes or other organs, or indeed deprive him of his life. A weak and contemptible fly can rob a human being of what he can never retrieve. Summarising, we now know:
- "Indeed, those you call upon besides Allah can never create [even] a fly..."
- The idols or false deities people pray to cannot create even the smallest creature.
- The fly, one of the weakest and most insignificant creatures, is used to show how powerless these so-called gods are.
- Even More Powerless When Challenged
- "...even if they all gathered for that purpose..."
- Even if all the false gods and their followers united, they still couldn’t create a fly — not even a copy, let alone bring it to life.
- This is a clear argument for Allah’s exclusive power as the Creator.
- Powerlessness Exposed by a Fly
- "And if the fly were to snatch away anything from them, they could not retrieve it from it..."
- Flies are known to take tiny bits of food, yet even that cannot be taken back by these idols.
- Scientifically, once a fly takes something, it partially digests or absorbs it through its enzymes — even modern humans can’t “take it back” in the same form, let alone idols.
- A Final Blow to Idolatry
- "Weak are the pursuer and the pursued."
- The worshipper (طالب) is weak because they are seeking help from a powerless being.
- The idol (مطلوب) is also weak because it cannot even help itself.
- Both are in a relationship of mutual weakness, and futility.
Deeper Reflection:
- This verse is a rational argument against shirk (associating partners with Allah).
- It invites people to use their reason, not just emotion or tradition, when it comes to matters of worship.
- It also reveals the humiliating contrast between the might of Allah and the powerlessness of false gods.
- We nowe how the Qur’ānic style uses facts in the most effective way. Had the text referred to lions and similar wild animals adding that men cannot rescue anything such animals rob them of, it would have generated an air of strength and force, rather than weakness. Besides, the most powerful animals cannot rob man of anything greater than what a fly can rob him of.
- This powerful image stating a clear aphorism concludes with a simple comment: “Weak indeed is the seeker, and weak the sought!”
Foregoing explanation in view, Surah Al-Hajj (22:73) delivers a powerful, logical, and vivid argument: those who are worshiped besides Allah are so powerless that they can’t even match a fly in creation or defense. The parable ends by highlighting the weakness of both the worshippers and the idols — urging people to return to the worship of the One True God who is All-Powerful and Self-Sufficient.
Let us understand the Qur'an through simple explanation, followed by detailed tafseer to know what Qur'an wants us to know and beleive. With such parables and indications, Allah forbids us to follow beings other than He for the worldy deities cannot even make a fly or even the thin covering on the seed of the date. If that be so, then how can they redress our grievances? Let us not act as blinds when Qur'an shows us the light and the way to none but Allah, the Creator and redressal of grievances and provider of the means of sustenances.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may read more posts on similar theme in our series of posts related to: Understanding Shirk - Grave sin of Associating Partners with Allah (Reference Page)
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
You may also refer to our Reference Pages and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
Disclaimer: The material for this post has been collected from the references given above. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors. If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.
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