(56–57) “Say, ‘Call upon those whom you claim besides Him. They have no power to remove harm from you or transfer it elsewhere.’ Those whom they invoke themselves seek the means of nearness to their Lord, each striving to be nearer; they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Your Lord’s punishment is indeed something to be feared.”
Allah Most High says: “Say” to the polytheists who associate partners with Allah, taking rivals besides Him whom they worship as they worship Allah and invoke as they invoke Him—requiring them to substantiate what they claim and believe, if they are truthful:
“Call upon those whom you claim” to be gods besides Allah, and see whether they can benefit you or ⦗461⦘ ward off harm from you. They have no power “to remove harm from you,” such as illness, poverty, hardship, and the like, and therefore cannot eliminate it altogether; nor do they have the power to transfer it from one person to another, or to reduce its severity.
If this is their condition, why do you invoke them besides Allah? They possess no perfection and perform no beneficial acts. Taking them as gods therefore reflects deficiency in religion and reason and foolishness in judgment.
Strangely, when foolishness becomes habitual, is repeatedly practiced, and is approvingly inherited from misguided forefathers, its adherent regards it as sound judgment and beneficial reason. Yet he regards sincere devotion to Allah—the One, the Unique and Perfect, who bestows every outward and inward blessing—as foolishness and a cause for astonishment, just as the polytheists said: “Has he made all the gods into one God? This is truly an astonishing thing!”
He then informs us that those whom they worship besides Allah are far too occupied with their own need for Allah and with seeking the means of nearness to Him to pay any heed to them. He says: “Those whom they invoke”—among the prophets, the righteous, and the angels—“themselves seek the means of nearness to their Lord, each striving to be nearer.” That is, they compete in drawing near to their Lord and devote all they can to righteous deeds that bring them closer to Allah Most High and to His mercy. They fear His punishment and therefore avoid everything that leads to it.
“Your Lord’s punishment is indeed something to be feared.” That is, it is the punishment of which one should be intensely wary and guard against its causes.
These three qualities—fear, hope, and love—with which Allah describes those who are near to Him are the foundation and substance of every good. Whoever possesses them fully will have all his affairs set aright; but when the heart is devoid of them, all good departs from it and evils surround it.
The sign of love is what Allah has mentioned: the servant strives to perform every deed that brings him closer to Allah and competes in drawing near to Him by devoting every deed sincerely to Allah, performing it faithfully, and carrying it out in the most perfect manner within his ability. Whoever claims to love Allah without doing this is a liar.