Ash-Shu'ara · Makki · ayah 93 of 227

Ash-Shu'ara 26:93

مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ هَلْ يَنصُرُونَكُمْ أَوْ يَنتَصِرُونَ

“Other than Allāh? Can they help you or help themselves?"”

Saheeh International

Essence

On the Day, the helpers people placed between themselves and Allah are asked one question: can they help you, or even help themselves?

A reflection

Whatever you set in the space before Him

The ayah opens with two words, min dūni. They are usually translated 'besides' or 'other than'. The root d-w-n has a more physical picture. The lexicons say dūn is whatever stands in the space between you and the thing you want. The Arabs said: before you reach the river, there is a company of men, dūna al-nahr. Terrors stand dūna killing the lion.

So the idols were not only alternatives to Allah. They were things set in the gap between a person and his Lord. A go-between, a broker, a door before the door.

Why would anyone want that? Because a broker can be managed. A stone can be carried, a charm can be bought, a patron can be flattered. A Lord who sees the heart cannot be handled at all. Before Him you can only bow.

Picture a man applying for a post at a large firm. The application door is open to everyone, with the same form for all. He will not use it. He spends months cultivating the chairman's personal assistant with gifts and favours. Queuing like everyone else feels beneath him. His pride prefers a side door he can work, to a front door where he must simply wait his turn.

That is the ego's old instinct. It would rather pay a middleman it controls than stand humble before the One it cannot control. The ayah strips the middlemen away with one question. Whatever you put dūna Allah, in the space before Him, turns out to be standing in front of nothing.

Is it arrogant of Allah to demand that nothing stand between Him and His servant? It would be, if He gained from it. He does not. 'You are the ones in need of Allah, and Allah is the Rich, the Praised' (35:15). The open door is for our sake. No one has to buy his way to it.

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.