Allah said,
[أَفَمَنْ هُوَ
قَآئِمٌ عَلَى كُلِّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ]
(Is then He (Allah) Who takes charge of every person and knows all that he
has earned) Allah is the guard and watcher over every living soul and knows what
everyone does, whether good or evil, and nothing ever escapes His perfect
observation. Allah said in other Ayat,
[وَمَا تَكُونُ فِى
شَأْنٍ وَمَا تَتْلُواْ مِنْهُ مِن قُرْءَانٍ وَلاَ تَعْمَلُونَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ إِلاَّ
كُنَّا عَلَيْكُمْ شُهُودًا إِذْ تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ]
(Neither you do any deed nor recite any portion of the Qur'an, nor you do any
deed, but we are witness thereof, when you are doing it.) [10:61] and Allah
said,
[وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن
وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا]
(Not a leaf falls, but He knows it.) [6:59]
[وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ
فِي الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا
وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِى كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ ]
(And no moving creature is there on earth but its provision is due from
Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposits. All is in a Clear
Book.)[11:6],
[سَوَآءٌ مِّنْكُمْ
مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِالَّيْلِ
وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ ]
(It is the same (to Him) whether any of you conceals his speech or declares
it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day.) [13:10]
[يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ
وَأَخْفَى]
(He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden.) [20:7] and,
[وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ
أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ]
(And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah is the All-Seer of what
you do.) [57:4] Is He Who is like this similar to the idols, that the
polytheists worship, which can neither hear nor see nor do they have a mind nor
able to bring good to themselves or to their worshippers nor prevent harm from
themselves or their worshippers The answer to the question in the Ayah was
omitted, because it is implied, for Allah said next,
[وَجَعَلُواْ للَّهِ
شُرَكَآءَ]
(Yet, they ascribe partners to Allah.) which they worshipped besides Him,
such as idols, rivals and false deities,
[قُلْ
سَمُّوهُمْ]
(Say: "Name them!'') make them known to us and uncover them so that they are
known, for surely, they do not exist at all! So Allah said,
[أَمْ تُنَبِّئُونَهُ
بِمَا لاَ يَعْلَمُ فِى الاٌّرْضِ]
(Is it that you will inform Him of something He knows not in the earth) for
had that thing existed in or on the earth, Allah would have known about it
because nothing ever escapes His knowledge,
[أَم بِظَـهِرٍ مِّنَ
الْقَوْلِ]
(or is it (just) a show of words) or doubts expressed in words, according to
Mujahid, while Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said, false words. Allah says, you
(polytheists) worshipped the idols because you thought that they had power to
bring benefit or harm, and this is why you called them gods,
[إِنْ هِىَ إِلاَّ
أَسْمَآءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن
سُلْطَـنٍ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الاٌّنفُسُ وَلَقَدْ
جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ الْهُدَى ]
(They are but names which you have named - you and your fathers - for which
Allah has sent down no authority. They follow but a guess and that which they
themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the guidance from their
Lord!)[53:23] Allah said next,
[بَلْ زُيِّنَ
لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مَكْرُهُمْ]
(Nay! To those who disbelieved, their plotting is made fair seeming,) or
their words, according to Mujahid. This Ayah refers to the misguidance of the
polytheists and their propagation night and day. Allah said in another Ayah,
[وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ
قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُواْ لَهُم]
(And We have assigned for them (devils) intimate companions, who have made
fair-seeming to them.) Allah said next,
[وَصُدُّواْ عَنِ
السَّبِيلِ]
(and they have been hindered from the right path;) Some read with Fatha over
the Sad (i.e. wa Saddu), which would mean, `and they hindered from the right
path, feeling fond of the misguidance they are in, thinking that it is correct,
they called to it and thus hindered the people from following the path of the
Messengers.' Others read it with Damma over the Sad (i.e. wa Suddu), which would
mean, `and they have been hindered from the right path,' explained it this way:
because they thought that their way looked fair or correct, they were hindered
by it from the right path, so Allah said,
[وَمَن يُضْلِلِ
اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ]
(and whom Allah sends astray, for him there is no guide.) Allah said in
similar instances,
[وَمَن يُرِدِ
اللَّهُ فِتْنَتَهُ فَلَن تَمْلِكَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً]
(And whomsoever Allah wants to suffer a trial, you can do nothing for him
against Allah.) [5:41], and,
[إِن تَحْرِصْ عَلَى
هُدَاهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِى مَن يُضِلُّ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِّن نَّـصِرِينَ
]
(If you covet for their guidance, then verily, Allah guides not those whom He
makes to go astray. And they will have no helpers.)[16:37]
[لَّهُمْ عَذَابٌ فِى
الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَعَذَابُ الاٌّخِرَةِ أَشَقُّ وَمَا لَهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ
مِن وَاقٍ - مَّثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِى وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ تَجْرِى مِن
تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَـرُ أُكُلُهَا دَآئِمٌ وِظِلُّهَا تِلْكَ عُقْبَى الَّذِينَ
اتَّقَواْ وَّعُقْبَى الْكَـفِرِينَ النَّارُ ]
(34. For them is a torment in the life of this world, and certainly, harder
is the torment of the Hereafter. And they have no defender (or protector)
against Allah.) (35. The description of the Paradise which those who have Taqwa
have been promised: Underneath it rivers flow, its provision is eternal and so
is its shade; this is the end (final destination) of those who have Taqwa, and
the end (final destination) of the disbelievers is Fire.)