The Quran

Preface

وَلَئِن سَأَلتَهُم مَن خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ لَيَقولُنَّ اللَّهُ ۚ قُل أَفَرَأَيتُم ما تَدعونَ مِن دونِ اللَّهِ إِن أَرادَنِيَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ هَل هُنَّ كاشِفاتُ ضُرِّهِ أَو أَرادَني بِرَحمَةٍ هَل هُنَّ مُمسِكاتُ رَحمَتِهِ ۚ قُل حَسبِيَ اللَّهُ ۖ عَلَيهِ يَتَوَكَّلُ المُتَوَكِّلونَ

Yusuf Ali

If indeed thou ask them who it is that created¹ the heavens and the earth, they would be sure to say, “God”. Say: “See ye then? the things that ye invoke besides God,- can they, if God wills some Penalty for me, remove His Penalty?- Or if He wills some Grace for me, can they keep back² his Grace?” Say: “Sufficient is God for me! In Him trust those who put their trust.”³

Cf. 29:61; also n. 2927 to 23:85. Most worshippers of false gods are neither atheists nor sceptics. They admit the existence of God as an abstract proposition, but it has not come into their hearts and souls: it has not been translated into their lives. They run after false worship on account of ancestral custom or on account of their thoughtlessness or false environment, or on account of their own selfish desires or limited outlook. To them is addressed the argument: 'Ultimately your false gods can do nothing for you: why not turn to the One True God, on Whom you depend, and Who can give you Grace and Mercy, Justice and Punishment?'
Cf. 33:17.
Cf. 12:67, and 14:12. God alone is He Who will and can discharge any trust put in Him. All other things will fail. Therefore those who put their trust in anything should put their trust in God.