Translation of the meanings Ayah 56 Surah Al-Isrā’ - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 56

قُلِ ٱدۡعُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ زَعَمۡتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ فَلَا يَمۡلِكُونَ كَشۡفَ ٱلضُّرِّ عَنكُمۡ وَلَا تَحۡوِيلًا

(56) ^[3617]Say ˹Muhammad˺: “Call on those^[3618] you claim besides Him; they do not possess the ability to remove harm from you, nor would they be able to divert it!”

[3617] This goes on to further debunk the myths on which the Deniers base their stand. The so-called gods they pray to are not able to remove, change the state of, or divert harm away from them, so it begs credulity as to why they worship such helpless beings and pray not to God Almighty (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn Kathīr): “If you ask them ˹O Muhammad˺ who created the Heavens and the Earth, they will certainly say: “Allah!” Say: “Consider then whatever ˹idols˺ you pray to besides Allah: if it was Allah’s Will to harm me, could they undo that harm? Or if He willed ˹some˺ mercy for me, could they withhold His mercy?” Say: “Allah is sufficient for me. In Him ˹Alone˺ the trusting put their trust”” (39: 38).
[3618] The angels, the pious people and jinn they worship besides God Almighty, themselves are devoted in their worship of Him (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī, al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar).
It is reported that the great Qur’anic exegete, ʿAbdullāh Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما), was asked about the reason for the revelation of this aya and he replied: “A group of jinn, whom were worshipped, became Muslim, but those who worshipped them kept on worshipping them!” (al-Bukhārī: 4715; Muslim 3030).