(55) “Yet they worship besides Allah things that can neither benefit nor harm them. And the disbeliever is ever a supporter against his Lord.”

That is, they worship idols and the dead, which can neither harm nor benefit, and set them up as rivals to the One who alone controls benefit and harm, giving and withholding. Yet their duty is to follow their Lord’s guidance and defend His religion; instead, they have turned the matter completely on its head.

“And the disbeliever is ever a supporter against his Lord.” These false objects of worship—the idols and rivals—are enemies of Allah, yet the disbeliever supports and assists them against their Lord. He thus becomes an enemy of his Lord, openly confronting Him with hostility and warfare. This is despite the fact that He is the One who created him, provided for him, and bestowed upon him blessings both manifest and hidden. The disbeliever can never escape His dominion, authority, or grasp, and Allah does not cease to show him kindness and benevolence; yet, in his ignorance, he persists in this hostility and open defiance.