Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:106
And most of them believe not in Allah except while they associate others 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 word of Allah, the Exalted: وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلا وَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَ (106)
Abū Jaʿfar said: the Exalted says: and most of these — whose quality He ﷻ has described in His word: وَكَأَيِّنْ مِنْ آيَةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهَا وَهُمْ عَنْهَا مُعْرِضُونَ — do not acknowledge Allah as their Creator and Provider and the Creator of all things إلا وهم مشركون — while they worship idols and statues, take lords besides Him, and claim that He has a child — exalted is Allah above what they say.
In a sense similar to what we have said about this, the exegetes spoke.
*Mention of who said that:*
19954 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله — the Āya — he said: "Of their belief is that when they are asked: who created the heaven? And who created the earth? And who created the mountains? They say: Allah. While they associate partners with Him (are mushrikūn)."
19955 — Hannād related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — he said: "You ask them: who created them? And who created the heavens and the earth? They say: Allah. That is their belief in Allah, while they worship another besides Him."
19956 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir and ʿIkrima: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله — the Āya — they both said: "They know that He is their Lord and that He created them, while they associate partners with Him."
19957 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir and ʿIkrima, similarly.
19958 — he said: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Naḍr, on the authority of ʿIkrima: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — he said: "Of their belief is that when they are asked: who created the heavens? They say: Allah. And when they are asked: who created them? They say: Allah. While they thereafter associate partners with Him."
19959 — he said: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, on the authority of al-Faḍl ibn Yazīd al-Thumālī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: "That is the word of Allah: وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ [Sūrat Luqmān: 25 / Sūrat al-Zumar: 38]. And when they are asked about Allah and His attributes, they describe Him with attributes that do not belong to Him, attribute a child to Him, and associate partners with Him."
19960 — al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — "Their belief is their statement: Allah created us, and He provides for us and causes us to die."
19961 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — "Their belief is their statement: Allah created us, and He provides for us and causes us to die."
19962 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa informed us, saying: Shbl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — "Their belief is their statement: Allah created us, and He provides for us and causes us to die. This is belief together with the associating of partners through their worship of another besides Him."
19963 — he said: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — he said: "Their belief is their statement: Allah created us, and He provides for us and causes us to die."
19964 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Hāniʾ ibn Saʿīd and Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Ḥajjāj, on the authority of al-Qāsim, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: "They say: Allah is our Lord, and He provides for us, while they thereafter associate partners with Him."
19965 — al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: "Their belief is their statement: Allah created us, and He provides for us and causes us to die."
19966 — he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Tumayla related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿIkrima and Mujāhid and ʿĀmir: that they said concerning this verse: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — he said: "There is no one who does not know that Allah created him and created the heavens and the earth; that is their belief, while they reject the rest."
19967 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — "In that belief of theirs. You will not find one of them but that he tells you that Allah is his Lord, and that He created him and provided for him — while he associates partners in his worship."
19968 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله — the Āya — he said: "You do not ask any of the polytheists: who is your Lord? but that he says: my Lord is Allah! While he associates partners therein."
19969 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — "he means the Christians; He says: وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ [Sūrat Luqmān: 25 / Sūrat al-Zumar: 38], وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ [Sūrat al-Zukhruf: 87]; and if you ask them who provides for you from the heaven and the earth, they would say: Allah. While meanwhile they associate partners with Him, worship another besides Him, and prostrate to idols before Him."
19970 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn informed us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: "They associated partners with Him in their talbiya."
19971 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله — the Āya — he said: "They know that Allah is their Lord, while they thereafter associate partners with Him."
19972 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, concerning His word: وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون — he said: "They know that Allah created them and provides for them, while they associate partners with Him."
19973 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: he said: I heard Ibn Zayd say concerning وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله — the Āya — he said: "There is no one who venerates another besides Allah without believing in Allah and acknowledging that Allah is his Lord, and that Allah created him and provided for him — while he associates partners with Him. Do you not see how Ibrāhīm said: أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْبُدُونَ * أَنْتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُمُ الأَقْدَمُونَ * فَإِنَّهُمْ عَدُوٌّ لِي إِلا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ [Sūrat al-Shuʿarāʾ: 75-77]? He knew that they worshipped the Lord of the Worlds alongside what else they worshipped. There is thus no one who associates partners with Him but that he believes in Him. Do you also not see how the Arabs pronounced the talbiya: Labbayka Allāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka, illā sharīkan huwa lak, tamlikuhu wa-mā malak? That is what the polytheists used to say."