⦗40–41⦘ “Say, ‘Tell me: if Allah’s punishment comes upon you or the Hour overtakes you, will you call upon anyone other than Allah, if you are truthful? Rather, it is Him alone you will call upon; then, if He wills, He will remove the affliction for which you called upon Him, and you will forget those you associate with Him.’”

Allah Most High says to His Messenger: “Say” to those who associate partners with Allah and equate others with Him: “Tell me: if Allah’s punishment comes upon you or the Hour overtakes you, will you call upon anyone other than Allah, if you are truthful?” That is, when such hardships and severe distresses befall you, compelling you to seek their removal, do you call upon your deities and idols, or do you call upon your Lord, the true and manifest Sovereign?

“Rather, it is Him alone you will call upon; then, if He wills, He will remove the affliction for which you called upon Him, and you will forget those you associate with Him.” Since this is how you treat your rivals to Allah in times of hardship—forgetting them because you know that they possess no power to bring you harm or benefit, death, life, or resurrection—and since you call sincerely upon Allah alone, knowing that He alone brings benefit and harm and answers the distressed when they call upon Him, why do you associate partners with Him in times of ease and set up partners for Him? Has reason or revelation directed you to do so, or do you possess any authority for it? Or rather, (1) are you fabricating lies against Allah?