Al-Hajj · Madani · ayah 12 of 78

Al-Hajj 22:12

يَدْعُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُۥ وَمَا لَا يَنفَعُهُۥ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلضَّلَـٰلُ ٱلْبَعِيدُ

“He invokes instead of Allāh that which neither harms him nor benefits him. That is what is the extreme error.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Having turned from Allah in a hard moment, he calls on what can neither harm nor help him: a straying that has gone very far.

A reflection

He ran from harm to what cannot touch it

This ayah follows straight on from the man who worshipped Allah on an edge (22:11). A trial reached him, and he turned on his face. Now we see where he went. One early commentator spells it out. Having left Allah's religion, he calls on gods that cannot harm him if he ignores them. Nor can they benefit him if he worships them.

The irony is sharp. He left because of harm. Illness, a bad year, a loss. He wanted something that would protect him from such things. And he has gone to the one place that has no power over harm at all.

A shopkeeper finds his till short three weeks running. He blames his accountant, who has been honest with him for years, and lets her go. Then he hangs a gold lucky cat beside the till, its paw waving all day. The shortfall continues. He has removed the one person who could have found it, and installed something that cannot even see it.

The ayah describes the man's choice with a careful word order. It mentions harm first. That is what he was afraid of, and that is what the false object cannot touch. It is powerless to hurt him if he leaves it, and powerless to help him if he clings to it. One commentator notes that the repeated mā, 'that which', fits a lifeless thing. It is not even a 'who'.

Our own version is rarely a statue. It is the reflex, in a hard week, to turn from prayer towards something that feels more practical. A ritual, a charm, a lucky routine, the confident advice of a stranger. Before you make that turn, ask the ayah's two questions. Can this harm me if I leave it? Can it help me if I hold it? If the honest answer to both is no, you are about to run from harm into empty air.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.