Surah An Nahl Tafseer

The Idolators Argument that their Shirk was Divinely decreed, and the Refutation of this Claim

Allah tells:

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُواْ

And those who worshipped others with Allah said:

Allah tells us about the idolators delusion over their Shirk, and the excuse they claimed for it based on the idea that it is ordained by divine decree.

He says:

لَوْ شَاء اللّهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا مِن دُونِهِ مِن شَيْءٍ نَّحْنُ وَلا ابَاوُنَا وَلَا حَرَّمْنَا مِن دُونِهِ مِن شَيْءٍ

(They say:) "If Allah had so willed, neither we nor our fathers would have worshipped any but Him, nor would we have forbidden anything without (a command from) Him."

They had superstitious customs dealing with certain animals, e.g. the Bahirah the Sa'ibah and the Wasilah and other things that they had invented and innovated by themselves, with no revealed authority. The essence of what they said was:

"If Allah hated what we did, He would have stopped by punishing us, and He would not have enabled us to do it."

كَذَلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ

Those before them did the same.

Rejecting their confusing ideas, Allah says:

فَهَلْ عَلَى الرُّسُلِ إِلاَّ الْبَلغُ الْمُبِينُ

Are the Messengers charged with anything but to clearly convey the Message!

meaning, the matter is not as you claim. It is not the case that Allah did not rebuke your behavior; rather, He did rebuke you, and in the strongest possible terms, and He emphatically forbade you from such behavior. To every nation - that is, to every generation, to every community of people - He sent a Messenger. All of the Messengers called their people to worship Allah (Alone) as well as forbidding them from worshipping anything or anybody except for Him