Tafseer of Jonas · Yunus · 10:18
And they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah " Say, "Do you inform Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth?" Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the interpretation of the word of Allah the Exalted: وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قُلْ أَتُنَبِّئُونَ اللَّهَ بِمَا لا يَعْلَمُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلا فِي الأَرْضِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ (18) (And they worship besides Allah that which can neither harm them nor benefit them, and they say: these are our intercessors with Allah. Say: Do you inform Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth? Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him as partners.)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted says: And these polytheists (mushrikīn) — whose characteristics I have described to you, O Muḥammad — worship besides Allah that which does not harm them at all and does not benefit them, neither in the worldly life nor in the Hereafter. These are the gods and the idols that they used to worship. And they say: these are our intercessors with Allah — that is to say: they worshipped them in the hope of their intercession (shafāʿa) with Allah. Allah said to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Say to them: Do you inform Allah of something He does not know in the heavens or on the earth? — He says: Do you inform Allah of something that does not exist in the heavens or on the earth? For the gods indeed do not intercede for them with Allah, neither in the heavens nor on the earth. The polytheists, however, claimed that they would intercede for them with Allah. Allah therefore said to His prophet ﷺ: Say to them: Do you inform Allah that that which performs no intercession in the heavens and on the earth will be an intercession for you in both? That is null and void — its true nature and correctness is not known; for Allah indeed knows that this is the opposite of what you claim, and that these gods perform no intercession for anyone, neither benefiting nor harming. Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him as partners — He says: exalted and free is Allah of what these polytheists do, namely associating partners (shirk) in His worship with that which neither harms nor benefits, and their lying fabrications against Him.
Notes: (25) See the tafsīr of "intercession" in the foregoing, p. 18, note 3, and the sources cited there. (26) See the tafsīr of "al-nabāʾ" in the foregoing linguistic registers (nabāʾa). (27) See the tafsīr of "subḥān" in the foregoing, p. 30, note 3, and the sources cited there; and the tafsīr of "taʿālā" in the foregoing, 13:317, note 2, and the sources cited there.
