The Quran

Preface

قُل أَرَأَيتُم شُرَكاءَكُمُ الَّذينَ تَدعونَ مِن دونِ اللَّهِ أَروني ماذا خَلَقوا مِنَ الأَرضِ أَم لَهُم شِركٌ فِي السَّماواتِ أَم آتَيناهُم كِتابًا فَهُم عَلىٰ بَيِّنَتٍ مِنهُ ۚ بَل إِن يَعِدُ الظّالِمونَ بَعضُهُم بَعضًا إِلّا غُرورًا

Yusuf Ali

Say: “Have ye seen¹ (these) ?Partners? of yours whom ye call upon besides God. Show Me what it is they have created in the (wide) earth. Or have they a share in the heavens? Or have We given them a Book from which they (can derive) clear (evidence)?- Nay, the wrong-doers promise each other nothing but delusions.

The people who enthrone in their hearts for worship anything besides God may well be asked a few questions. Some of such questions are indicated in the text with terse precision: (1) Have you seen these gods of yours? Do they exist? “Seeing” of course does not necessarily mean physical sight. We do not see the air, but no one doubts that it exists. And the air is a physical substance. There are forces that we know exist, but we do not see them. To us, who have Faith, God is a truer Reality than anything else that we know, including ourselves. Can the false worshippers say that of any of their false gods? (2) Have your gods created or originated anything on earth? You may worship power or wealth, but that is a scramble for things as between selfish men. Power or wealth does not create new men or new worlds. (3) Have they a share in the ordering of the heavens? “The heavens” may mean what you see in the physical universe of astronomy, or the still subtler inner life. Obviously your false gods fail there. (4) Or have these false gods a book or revelation from the Supreme God, with clear evidence, to give them authority to teach men? The Prophets or Messengers of God have such authority, and they bring evidence of the One True God. The fact is that falsehood is falsehood, however much one form of it may support another by delusions.