The universe was created by One True God, which though inviable, existed to create, manage and make His subjects accountable. While many believed in His existence, many others did not. God sent countless prophets and messengers to make them follow the path He had defined for His subjects. Yet those who did not believe the prophets and messengers continued to worship their deities, mostly made by their own hands.
As for those who heeded to the Divine message and accepted the faith of One True God, many out of them still continue to follow the culture and traditions of their forefathers. They not only worshipped their graves, but also make their graves the focal point of enlightenment. They, though, are unaware that they are inadvertently are committing shirk. This is specially true in countries like India where majority of Muslims had reverted to Islam from idol worshipping. Since they found Islam too simple with no fanfare, they devised ways to add a tinge of entertainment while adding supernatural intervention.
Let us see what Al Qur'an says about this critical and important deviation from Divine commandments:
The verse in context
In Surah Az-Zukhruf, verse 86 says: “Those whom they call upon beside Him have no power of intercession except that one may testify to the Truth by virtue of knowledge.”
What does this mean? This verse is addressing a common belief among the pagans of Makkah, and even many reverts: they thought their idols or intermediaries could intercede with Allah on their behalf.
The Qur’an responds with two key points:
- No one has independent power to intercede.
- Any intercession that exists happens only by Allah’s permission, and only for those aligned with truth.
Thus the core idea behind this verse is: You cannot rely on created beings as spiritual shortcuts to Allah.
Explanation of the Verse by Eminent Muslim Scholars
- Ibn Kathir In his Tafsir, Ibn Kathir explains Surah Az-Zukhruf (43:86) by stating that the false deities (idols, angels, or human figures) worshipped alongside Allah have no power to intercede for anyone. Intercession is exclusively permitted for those who bore witness to the truth (Tawhid) consciously and with knowledge. Key Explanations of 43:86 by Ibn Kathir are as under:
- No Universal Intercession: Those worshipped besides Allah, such as angels or prophets, cannot intercede for the disbelievers who call upon them.
- Condition of Intercession: Intercession is limited to those who testify that "there is no god except Allah" (Tawhid) with knowledge and sincerity in their hearts.
- Judgment on False Beliefs: The verse refutes the claim that idols or false gods possess or wordily saints, specially the dead ones, inherent power to intercede for anyone, regardless of their actions.
- Contextual Usage Examples & Synonyms
- Usage Example (Disbelief in Intercession): The verse highlights that the polytheists' reliance on idols for intercession is completely futile and baseless, as these idols will have no authority.
- Usage Example (Submission to Allah): It reinforces that only true followers of monotheism (Tawhid) will benefit from intercession, as stated in the context of the Prophet's message.
- Power of intercession" relates to the authority to mediate with Allah."
- Witness to the truth" denotes those who acknowledge Tawhid.
- Note: For direct viewing of the Tafsir, you can refer to resources like Surah Quran or My Islam. Surah Az-Zukhruf Ayat 86 (43:86 Quran) With Tafsir - My Islam (1) Those whom the people have
- Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, an eminent Muslim scholar from Pakistan had a fair idea of believers visiting graves and trying their supernatural intervention. His explanation of the verse directs at several meanings:
- (1) Those whom the people have made their deities in the world, will not at all be their intercessors before Allah. Those of them who were wicked, will themselves be presented as culprits there. However, those who had borne witness to the Truth by virtue of knowledge (and not unconsciously) will certainly be able to intercede for others.
- (2) Those who will be permitted to intercede, will be able to do so only for those who had testified to the Truth consciously (and not heedlessly). They will neither intercede of their own will, nor will have the permission to intercede for anyone who had gone and been led astray from the Truth in the world, or had been affirming the faith in Allah as the only Deity unconsciously as well as serving other deities at the same time
- (3) If a person says that those whom he has made gods necessarily possess the powers of intercession, and they wield such an influence with Allah that they can have anyone they like forgiven, irrespective of his beliefs and deeds, is totally wrong. No one enjoys such a position with Allah. If the one who claims that another has such powers of intercession, can testify to the truth of this matter by virtue of knowledge, one should have the courage to say so. But if one is not in a position to bear such a testimony, and one is certainly not, it would be sheer folly to invent such a creed on the basis of mere hearsay, or conjecture, and risk one's life hereafter relying only on an imaginary support.
- Two Important Principles He further explains that Incidentally, this verse also gives two important principles:
- First, it shows that bearing a testimony to the truth without knowledge may be reliable in the world, but it is not so before Allah. In the world, whoever affirms the Faith verbally will be regarded as a Muslim and treated as such unless he openly commits an act expressly contradictory to belief. But as before Allah only such a one will be counted as a Muslim, who has uttered Lailaha ill-Allah consciously, with full understanding of what he is denying and what he is affirming according to his best knowledge.
- Secondly, it gives this principle of the law of evidence that knowledge is a pre-requisite of bearing the evidence. If the bearer of an evidence has no knowledge of the event to which he is bearing evidence, his evidence is meaningless. The same is borne out by a decision given by the Holy Prophet. He said to a witness: "If you saw what happened with your own eyes as you are seeing the sun, then you may bear the witness, otherwise not." (Ahkam al-Qur an by al Jassas). "
Applying this to visiting graves or saints
In many Muslim societies, people visit graves of saints hoping for:
- Healing
- رزق (sustenance)
- Solving personal problems
We need to distinguish carefully between what is permissible and what is not:
- ✅ Permissible
- Visiting graves to remember death
- Making du‘ā to Allah at a قبرستان (graveyard)
- Respecting righteous people
- ❌ Problematic (from Qur’anic perspective)
- Asking the dead directly: “O saint, give me a child / solve my problem”
- Believing a saint controls outcomes or hears independently everywhere
- Treating graves as places of guaranteed supernatural intervention
Any ambiguity about ways of worship or redressing one's grievances is made clear in the 86th verse quoted above. That is Those besides Allah do not possess intercession on their own.
What do Hadith say?
Teachings of Muhammad strongly emphasize protecting pure monotheism (Tawḥīd). Some well-known themes from hadith:
- No exaggeration in honoring graves The Prophet warned not to turn graves into places of worship. He criticized earlier communities who took graves of prophets as worship sites.
- Du‘ā is directed to Allah alone A famous teaching: “When you ask, ask Allah; when you seek help, seek help from Allah.”
- Visiting graves is allowed—but for reflection He permitted grave visits to remind people of the Hereafter, not to seek favors from the dead.
A very pertinent example of asking the pious who are alive rather than those who are not After the Prophet’s death, the companions did not ask the Prophet directly. by visiting his grave. Rather on one occasion when there was drought in Makkah, Umar ibn al-Khattab, the caliph of the time, after the Prophet’s passing, ʿUmar said:
“O Allah, we used to ask our Prophet to supplicate to You for rain, and You would bless us with rain. Now we ask the uncle of our Prophet to supplicate to You, so grant us rain.”
Then he asked Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib to make duʿā’, and rain came. That clearly shows that after the Prophet’s death, the companions did not ask the Prophet directly. Instead, they asked a living righteous person (al-ʿAbbas) to make duʿā’ for them. This is often cited in discussions about tawassul (seeking means of closeness to God).
Why this issue persists today
The verses (43:33–35 and 43:86) connect here:
- Humans tend to seek tangible intermediaries
- Cultural traditions mix with religion
- Emotional needs (grief, desperation) lead people to visible figures (saints, shrines)
It’s less about rebellion and more about misplaced dependence
How to avoid “worldly deities” in practice
Not by harsh judgment, but by re-centering belief:
- Clarify intention Ask yourself: (1) Am I asking Allah directly?, (2) Or relying on someone/something else as a power?
- Understand الوسيلة (means) correctly
- Islam allows Asking a living person to make du‘ā for you
- But not Assigning divine-like powers to any human
- Strengthen direct connection with Allah
- Make du‘ā regularly yourself
- Learn His names and attributes
- Build reliance (tawakkul) without intermediaries
- Educate gently, not confrontationally In many places, practices are cultural. Reform works better through: Teaching, patience and clarity, not condemnation
Bottom line
Verse 43:86 is a direct reminder: No created being—alive or dead—has independent authority to grant your needs or intercede. It redirects all dependence to Allah alone, while still allowing respect for righteous people—but without elevating them to a role that belongs only to God.
Those who revere saints, specially the dead ones. may find this post difficult to digest as their ancestors have hammered such misguided beliefs in them and they find difficult to find a way out. for such weak believers, the examples of reverts of the western world should be an eye opener who have read and understood Islam and depending and having faith on Allah alone without any intermediaries. Unless the born Muslims read AL Qur'an and its translation from unbiased and neutral resources, they are bound to remain misguided and will continue to commit shirk, though unknowingly and inadvertently.
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.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
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.
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.
This verse is part of Selected Verses from Sürah (43) Az-Zukhruf (Ornaments of Gold / luxury) already published.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference pages:
- Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
- Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects
- 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 Al-Qurʾān 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, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. 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. The purpose of this post is to create awareness about who to worship and how to avoid chances of being led to shirk. It does not in any way condemn or refute the beliefs of those who think otherwise.
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