Surah 11

Surah 11:56

"Surely I have put my trust in God, my Lord and your Lord. (There is) no creature He does not seize by its hair. Surely my Lord is on a straight path."
The Conversation between (the People of) 'Ad and Hud Verses 11:53-56
Show Full Scripture Context (11:53-56) — 4 Verses
Verse 53

قَالُواْ يَٰهُودُ مَا جِئۡتَنَا بِبَيِّنَةٖ وَمَا نَحۡنُ بِتَارِكِيٓ ءَالِهَتِنَا عَن قَوۡلِكَ وَمَا نَحۡنُ لَكَ بِمُؤۡمِنِينَ

They said, ‘Hūd! You have not brought us any clear sign, and we are not going to abandon our gods on your saying, (for) we do not believe in you.

Verse 54

إِن نَّقُولُ إِلَّا ٱعۡتَرَىٰكَ بَعۡضُ ءَالِهَتِنَا بِسُوٓءٖۗ قَالَ إِنِّيٓ أُشۡهِدُ ٱللَّهَ وَٱشۡهَدُوٓاْ أَنِّي بَرِيٓءٞ مِّمَّا تُشۡرِكُونَ

We (can) only say (that) one of our gods has seized you with evil.’ He said, ‘Surely I call God to witness, and you bear witness (too), that I am free of what you associate,

Verse 55

مِن دُونِهِۦۖ فَكِيدُونِي جَمِيعٗا ثُمَّ لَا تُنظِرُونِ

other than Him. So plot against me, all of you, (and) then do not spare me.

Verse 56

إِنِّي تَوَكَّلۡتُ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمۚ مَّا مِن دَآبَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ ءَاخِذُۢ بِنَاصِيَتِهَآۚ إِنَّ رَبِّي عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٖ مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ

Surely I have put my trust in God, my Lord and your Lord. (There is) no creature He does not seize by its hair. Surely my Lord is on a straight path.

Allah, the Exalted, informs that they said to their Prophet,

Quoted Scripture
"No evidence have you brought us."

This means that they claimed that Hud had not brought them any proof or evidence for what he claimed.

Quoted Scripture
"and we shall not leave our gods for your (mere) saying!"

They were saying how could his mere statement, "Leave these gods," be sufficient proof for them to leave their idols?

Quoted Scripture
"and we are not believers in you."

This means that they did not believe what he was saying was true.

Quoted Scripture
"All that we say is that some of our gods have seized you with evil."

They were saying, "We think that some of our idols have afflicted you with madness and insanity in your intellect because you are trying to stop them from being worshipped and defame them."

{He said: "I call Allah to witness and bear you witness, that I am free from that which you ascribe as partners in worship besides Him (Allah)."} 11:54-55

Here, he is saying, "Verily, I am innocent of all of the rivals and idols (that you associate with Allah).

{So plot against me, all of you,} you and your gods if they are true."

{and give me no respite.} the blinking of an eye."

Then, Allah says,

Quoted Scripture
"I put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving creature but He has the grasp of its forelock."

Every creature is under His (Allah's) power and His authority. He is the Best Judge, the Most Just, Who does not do any injustice in His ruling. For verily, He is upon the straight path.

Verily, this argument contains a far-reaching proof and absolute evidence of the truthfulness of what Hud had come to them with. It also proves the falsehood of them worshipping idols that could not benefit nor harm them. Rather, these idols were inanimate objects that could not hear, see, befriend, or make enmity. The only One Who is worthy of having worship directed solely towards Him is Allah alone, without any partners. He is the One in Whose Hand is the sovereignty and He is in control of all things. There is nothing except that it is under His ownership, power and authority. Thus, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him and there is no Lord other than Him.

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.