Surah As Saffat Tafseer

Will you call upon Ba`l and forsake the Best of creators,

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Qatadah and As-Suddi said that;

the word Ba`l means lord.

Ikrimah and Qatadah said, "This is the language of the people of Yemen."

According to another report from Qatadah, it is the language of Azd Shanu'ah.

Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam narrated from his father that;

it is the name of an idol which was worshipped by the people of a city called Ba`labak (Baalbek) which is to the west of Damascus.

Ad-Dahhak said,

"It is an idol which they used to worship."

أَتَدْعُونَ بَعْلً

(Will you call upon Ba`l).

means, `will you worship an idol,'

وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ

وَاللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ ابَايِكُمُ الاْاَوَّلِينَ