Surah Ankabut Ayat 17 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 17
You only worship, besides Allah, idols, and you produce a falsehood. Indeed, those you worship besides Allah do not possess for you [the power of] provision. So seek from Allah provision and worship Him and be grateful to Him. To Him you will be returned.”
“For ye do worship idols besides Allah, and ye invent falsehood. The things that ye worship besides Allah have no power to give you sustenance: then seek ye sustenance from Allah, serve Him, and be grateful to Him: to Him will be your return.
Those that you worship instead of Allah are merely idols, and you are simply inventing lies (about them). Indeed those whom you worship beside Allah have no power to provide you with any sustenance. So seek your sustenance from Allah and serve only Him and give thanks to Him alone. It is to Him that you will be sent back.
“You worship besides Allah only idols, and you only invent falsehood. Verily, those whom you worship besides Allah have no power to give you provision, so seek your provision from Allah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and be grateful to Him. To Him (Alone) you will be brought back.
Ye serve instead of Allah only idols, and ye only invent a lie. Lo! those whom ye serve instead of Allah own no provision for you. So seek your provision from Allah, and serve Him, and give thanks unto Him, (for) unto Him ye will be brought back.
Surely you only worship, apart from Allah, graven images, and you create falsehood. Surely the ones you worship apart from Allah possess no provision for you. So seek after (your) provision from the Providence of Allah, and worship Him, and be thankful to Him. To Him you will be returned.
What you worship instead of God are mere idols; what you invent is nothing but falsehood. Those you serve instead of God have no power to give you provisions, so seek provisions from God, serve Him, and give Him thanks: you will all be returned to Him.
تم تو اللہ تعالیٰ کے سوا بتوں کی پوجا پاٹ کر رہے ہو اور جھوٹی باتیں دل سے گھڑ لیتے ہو۔ سنو! جن جنکی تم اللہ تعالیٰ کے سوا پوجا پاٹ کر رہے ہو وه تو تمہاری روزی کے مالک نہیں پس تمہیں چاہئے کہ تم اللہ تعالیٰ ہی سے روزیاں طلب کرو اور اسی کی عبادت کرو اور اسی کی شکر گزاری کرو اور اسی کی طرف تم لوٹائے جاؤ گے
Quran 29 Verse 17 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Ankabut ayat 17, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(29:17) Those that you worship instead of Allah are merely idols, and you are simply inventing lies (about them).[28] Indeed those whom you worship beside Allah have no power to provide you with any sustenance. So seek your sustenance from Allah and serve only Him and give thanks to Him alone. It is to Him that you will be sent back.[29]
28. That is, “You are not forging idols but a lie. These idols are in themselves a lie. Then your beliefs that they are gods and goddesses, or they are incarnation of God, or His offspring, or His favorites, or intercessors with Him, or that someone of them is bestower of health, or giver of children or jobs, are all lies, which you have invented from your own whims and conjecture. The fact is that they are in no way more than idols, lifeless, powerless and impotent.”
29. In these few sentences the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) has put together all rational arguments against idol worship. There must necessarily be some reason for making somebody or something a deity. One such reason can be that somebody should be entitled to being a deity due to some personal excellence. Another, that he should be the creator of man, and man should be indebted to him for his existence. Third, that he should be responsible for man’s sustenance, his food and other means of life. Fourth, that man’s future should be linked up with his support and bounty, and man may be afraid that annoying him would mean bringing about his own ruin. The Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) said that none of these four things favored idol worship, but they all favored and demanded pure God worship. Saying that “You worship other than Allah only idols”, he demolished the first argument, for a mere idol could have no excellence to entitle it to be a deity. Then, by saying that “And you invent a falsehood”, he refuted the second argument, and “They have no power to give you provision” destroyed the third reason. Lastly, he said, “To Him you will be brought back” and not to the idols; therefore, it was not in their power to make or mar your destiny, but in the power of God alone. Thus, after a complete refutation of shirk, the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) made it clear to them that all the reasons for which man could regard somebody as a deity only applied to Allah, Who alone should be worshiped without associating anyone else with him.
Ibn-Kathir
The tafsir of Surah Ankabut verse 17 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Ankabut ayat 16 which provides the complete commentary from verse 16 through 18.
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