Tafseer of The Prophets · Al-Anbiyaa · 21:52
When he said to his father and his people, "What are these statues to which you are devoted?"
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.
إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ — that is to say: at the time when he said that and at the moment when he said it to them — مَا هَٰذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ — he says: he said to them: what are these images at which you abide and to which you devote yourselves? Those images were the idols (aṣnām) which they worshipped.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his word مَا هَٰذِهِ التَّمَاثِيلُ الَّتِي أَنتُمْ لَهَا عَاكِفُونَ : he said: the idols.
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: the same. And we have, in the parts of this work that have passed earlier, set forth that "the one who is ʿākif at something" is the one who abides at it, together with the testimonies for that, and we have mentioned the report of the people of interpretation.
