Surah Al Isra Tafseer

The gods of the Idolators can neither benefit nor harm; rather they themselves seek to draw close to Allah

Allah says:

قُلِ

Say,

O Muhammad to these idolators who worship things other than Allah,

ادْعُواْ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ

Call upon those - besides Him whom you pretend.

such as idols and rivals of Allah.

Even if you turn to them,

فَلَ يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنكُمْ

They have neither the power to remove the adversity from you,

they have no such power at all,

وَلَا تَحْوِيلً

nor even to shift (it from you to another person).

to lift the distress from you and give it to someone else.

The meaning is that the only one Who is able to do that is Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, Who is the One Who creates and issues commands.

قُلِ ادْعُواْ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُم

Say:"Call upon those whom you pretend,

Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn Abbas,

"The people of Shirk used to say, `we worship the angels and the Messiah and Uzayr,' while these (the angels and the Messiah and Uzayr) themselves call upon Allah.