Surah 25:43
Show Full Scripture Context (25:41-44) — 4 Verses
وَإِذَا رَأَوۡكَ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلَّا هُزُوًا أَهَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي بَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ رَسُولًا
When they see you, they take you only in mockery: ‘Is this the one whom God has raised up as a messenger?
إِن كَادَ لَيُضِلُّنَا عَنۡ ءَالِهَتِنَا لَوۡلَآ أَن صَبَرۡنَا عَلَيۡهَاۚ وَسَوۡفَ يَعۡلَمُونَ حِينَ يَرَوۡنَ ٱلۡعَذَابَ مَنۡ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا
He would indeed have led us astray from our gods, had we not been patient toward them.’ Soon they will know, when they see the punishment, who is farther astray (from the) way.
أَرَءَيۡتَ مَنِ ٱتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُۥ هَوَىٰهُ أَفَأَنتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيۡهِ وَكِيلًا
Do you see the one who takes his own desire as his god? Will you be a guardian over him?
أَمۡ تَحۡسَبُ أَنَّ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ يَسۡمَعُونَ أَوۡ يَعۡقِلُونَۚ إِنۡ هُمۡ إِلَّا كَٱلۡأَنۡعَٰمِ بَلۡ هُمۡ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا
Or do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are just like cattle – No! They are (even) farther astray (from the) way!
Allah tells us how the disbelievers mocked the Messenger, when they saw him. This is like the Ayah,
{And when the disbelievers see you, they take you not except for mockery} (21:36),
which means that they tried to find faults and shortcomings in him. Here Allah says:
i.e., they said this by way of belittling and trying to undermine him, so Allah put them in their place, and said:
{And indeed Messengers before you were mocked at} (6:10)
They meant: ‘He nearly turned us away from worshipping idols, and he would have done so, had we not been patient and persevered in our ways.’ So Allah said, warning and threatening them:
They took Their Desires as their gods and were more astray than Cattle
Then Allah tells His Prophet that if Allah decrees that someone will be misguided and wretched, then no one can guide him except Allah, glory be to Him:
meaning, whatever he admires and sees as good in his own desires becomes his religion and his way. As Allah says:
Ibn ‘Abbas said: “During the Jahiliyyah, a man would worship a white rock for a while, then if he saw another that looked better, he would worship that and leave the first.”
Then Allah said:
meaning, they are worse than grazing cattle. Cattle only do what they were created to do, but these people were created to worship Allah Alone without associating partners with Him, but they worship others with Him, even though evidence has been established against them and Messengers have been sent to them.