The Pilgrimage — Verse 12
22:12 · al-Hajj
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یَدۡعُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا یَضُرُّهُۥ وَمَا لَا یَنفَعُهُۥۚ ذَ ٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلضَّلَـٰلُ ٱلۡبَعِیدُ ١٢
yadʿū min dūni l-lahi mā lā yaḍurruhu wamā lā yanfaʿuhu dhālika huwa l-ḍalālu l-baʿīd
The Pilgrimage / al-Hajj (22:12)
Connections 1 single-source 1 commentator
Multi-source connections
No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.
Single-source mention (1) cited by only one commentator
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Q 22:11 (al-Hajj)
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By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah
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Ma'arif-ul-Quran 1 verse
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
Instead of God, they call upon what can neither harm nor help them- that is straying far away
yadʿū min dūni l-lahi mā lā yaḍurruhu wamā lā yanfaʿuhu dhālika huwa l-ḍalālu l-baʿīd
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Tafsir Commentary
The meaning of worshipping Allah as it were upon the edge
Mujahid, Qatadah and others said:
عَلَى حَرْفٍ
(upon the edge) means, in doubt. Others said that it meant on the edge, such as on the edge or side of a mountain, i.e., (this person) enters Islam on the edge, and if he finds what he likes he will continue, otherwise he will leave. Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَلَى حَرْفٍ
(And among mankind is he who worships Allah as it were upon the edge.) "People would come to Al-Madinah to declare their Islam and if their wives gave birth to sons and their mares gave birth to foals, they would say, `This is a good religion,' but if their wives and their mares did not give birth, they would say, `This is a bad religion."' Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "One of them would come to Al-Madinah, which was a land that was infected with a contagious disease. If he remained healthy there, and his mare foaled and his wife gave birth to a boy, he would be content, and would say, `I have not experienced anything but good since I started to follow this religion."
وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ
(but if a Fitnah strikes him), Fitnah here means affliction, i.e., if the disease of Al-Madinah befalls him, and his wife gives birth to a babe girl and charity is delayed in coming to him, the Shaytan comes to him and says: `By Allah, since you started to follow this religion of yours, you have experienced nothing but bad things,' and this is the Fitnah." This was also mentioned by Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Ibn Jurayj and others among the Salaf when explaining this Ayah. Mujahid said, concerning the Ayah:
انْقَلَبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ
(he turns back on his face.) "(This means), he becomes an apostate and a disbeliever."
خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالاٌّخِرَةَ
(He loses both this world and the Hereafter.) means, he does not gain anything in this world. As for the Hereafter, he has disbelieved in Allah the Almighty, so he will be utterly doomed and humiliated. So Allah says:
ذلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَنُ الْمُبِينُ
(That is the evident loss.), i.e., the greatest loss and the losing deal.
يَدْعُو مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَضُرُّهُ وَمَا لاَ يَنفَعُهُ
(He calls besides Allah unto that which can neither harm him nor profit him.) means, the idols, rivals, and false gods which he calls upon for help, support and provision -- they can neither benefit him nor harm him.
ذلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلاَلُ الْبَعِيدُ
(That is a straying far away.)
يَدْعُو لَمَنْ ضَرُّهُ أَقْرَبُ مِن نَّفْعِهِ
(He calls unto him whose harm is nearer than his profit;) means, he is more likely to harm him than benefit him in this world, and in the Hereafter he will most certainly cause him harm.
لَبِئْسَ الْمَوْلَى وَلَبِئْسَ الْعَشِيرُ
(certainly an evil Mawla and certainly an evil `Ashir!) Mujahid said, "This means the idols." The meaning is: "How evil a friend is this one upon whom he calls instead of Allah as a helper and supporter."
وَلَبِئْسَ الْعَشِيرُ
(and certainly an evil `Ashir!) means the one with whom one mixes and spends one's time.
He calls on he worships besides God in the way of idols that which could not hurt him should he refrain from worshipping it and that which could not profit him if were to worship it. Such a call is extreme error from the truth.
ومن الناس مَن يدخل في الإسلام على ضعف وشكٍّ، فيعبد الله على تردده، كالذي يقف على طرف جبل أو حائط لا يتماسك في وقفته، ويربط إيمانه بدنياه، فإن عاش في صحة وسَعَة استمر على عبادته، وإن حصل له ابتلاء بمكروه وشدة عزا شؤم ذلك إلى دينه، فرجع عنه كمن ينقلب على وجهه بعد استقامة، فهو بذلك قد خسر الدنيا؛ إذ لا يغيِّر كفرُه ما قُدِّر له في دنياه، وخسر الآخرة بدخوله النار، وذلك خسران بيِّن واضح. يعبد ذلك الخاسر من دون الله ما لا يضره إن تركه، ولا ينفعه إذا عبده، ذلك هو الضلال البعيد عن الحق. يدعو مَن ضررُه المحقق أقرب من نفعه، قبح ذلك المعبود نصيرًا، وقبح عشيرًا.
وقوله " يدعو من دون الله ما لا يضره وما لا ينفعه " أي من الأصنام والأنداد يستغيث بها ويستنصرها ويسترزقها وهي لا تنفعه ولا تضره " ذلك هو الضلال البعيد ".
ثم بين - سبحانه - مظاهر خسران هذا المذبذب ، وأحواله القبيحة فقال : ( يَدْعُو مِن دُونِ الله مَا لاَ يَضُرُّهُ وَمَا لاَ يَنفَعُهُ . . . ) .أى : يعبد سوى الله - تعالى - أوثاناً وأصناماً ، إن ترك عبادتها لا تستطيع أن تضره ، وإن عبدها فلن تستطيع أن تنفعه .و ( ذلك ) الذى يفعله هذا الشقى من عبادته لما لا يضر ولا ينفع ( هُوَ الضلال البعيد ) بعداً شاسعاً عن كل صواب ورشاد .
يقول تعالى ذكره: وإن أصابت هذا الذي يعبد الله على حرف فتنة، ارتدّ عن دين الله، يدعو من دون الله آلهة لا تضرّه إن لم يعبدها في الدنيا ولا تنفعه في الآخرة إن عبدها( ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلالُ الْبَعِيدُ ) يقول: ارتداده ذلك داعيا من دون الله هذه الآلهة هو الأخذ على غير استقامة ، والذهاب عن دين الله ذهابا بعيدا.حدثني يونس، قال: أخبرنا ابن وهب، قال: قال ابن زيد، في قوله ( يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُ وَمَا لا يَنْفَعُهُ ) يكفر بعد إيمانه ( ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلالُ الْبَعِيدُ ) .
( يدعو من دون الله ما لا يضره ) إن عصاه ولم يعبده ( وما لا ينفعه ) إن أطاعه وعبده ( ذلك هو الضلال البعيد ) عن الحق والرشد
يَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُ وَمَا لَا يَنْفَعُهُ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلَالُ الْبَعِيدُ (12)جملة { يدعو من دون الله } الخ حال من ضمير { انقلب } [ الحج : 11 ].وقدم الضر على النفع في قوله { ما لا يضره } إيماء إلى أنه تملص من الإسلام تجنباً للضر لتوهمه أن ما لحقه من الضر بسبب الإسلام وبسبب غضب الأصنام عليه ، فعاد إلى عبادة الأصنام حاسباً أنها لا تضره . وفي هذا الإيماء تهكم به يظهر بتعقيبه بقوله تعالى : { وما لا ينفعه } أي فهو مخطىء في دعائه الأصنام لتزيل عنه الضر فينتفع بفعلها . والمعنى : أنها لا تفعل ما يجلب ضرّاً ولا ما يجلب نفعاً .والإشارة في قوله { ذلك هو الضلال } إلى الدعاء المستفاد من { يدعو }.والقول في اسم الإشارة وضمير الفصل والقصر مثل ما تقدّم في قوله { ذلك هو الخسران المبين } [ الحج : 11 ].والبعيد : المتجاوز الحد المعروف في مدى الضلال ، أي هو الضلال الذي لا يماثله ضلال لأنه يعبد ما لا غناء له .
{ يَدْعُو } هذا الراجع على وجهه { مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُ وَمَا لَا يَنْفَعُهُ } وهذا صفة كل مدعو ومعبود من دون الله، فإنه لا يملك لنفسه ولا لغيره نفعا ولا ضرا، { ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلَالُ الْبَعِيدُ } الذي قد بلغ في البعد إلى حد النهاية، حيث أعرض عن عبادة النافع الضار، الغني المغني ، وأقبل على عبادة مخلوق مثله أو دونه، ليس بيده من الأمر شيء بل هو إلى حصول ضد مقصوده أقرب
قوله تعالى : يدعو من دون الله أي هذا الذي يرجع إلى الكفر يعبد الصنم الذي لا ينفع ولا يضر . ذلك هو الضلال البعيد قال الفراء : الطويل .
Whenever a man, unmindful of God, strays from His right path or ignores it, the reason is that he has placed his entire reliance on something other than God. This could be either an idol or some other such object or being. But, in this world, there is nobody who has any powers except the one and only God. Therefore, if a man relies on something other than God, he in fact parts from a powerful Being to seek the support of some imaginary thing which has no reality as a power. What action can be more wrong than this? Moreover, one’s association with God is not a simple matter. It is in fact an acceptance of reality. It is a right of God over man. Therefore, when a man leaves God and diverts his attention towards imaginary things, he is to be harmed by his own action. As far as any benefit is concerned, it can never be received from any object other than the one true God. Those who seek the support of things other than God apparently consider those things to be on a higher plane than themselves, as they would not otherwise have had recourse to them. But the fact is that those whose support is sought and those who seek such support are equally helpless and powerless. In such a world, the pure in thought, treading the God-favoured path with eyes fixed on the Hereafter, can distinguish God from a host of false gods. They are the most precious souls on this earth. God will show His appreciation for them by settling them in the perfect world of paradise, where they will experience eternal bliss.
Commentary
(And among men there is one who worships Allah (standing) on the verge - 22:11.) Bukhari and Ibn Abi Haim have related from Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ that when the Holy Prophet ﷺ migrated to Madinah, people flocked to him and accepted the new religion. But there were some among them whose conversion to Islam was far from being genuine, and whose sole motive for their action was to seek self-advancement, and they lacked conviction. If, after becoming Muslims, favorable circumstances resulted in an increase in their prosperity and their children, they thought Islam was a very good religion, but they were equally ready to condemn it if things went against their personal interests. This verse was revealed to describe such people who were mere opportunists and were easily swayed either way depending on where their selfish interests lay.
(He calleth) the Banu'l-Hallaf worship others (beside Allah, unto that which hurts him not) if they do not worship them (nor benefits him) if they worshipped them. (That is the far error) far from the Truth and guidance.