Tafseer of The Poets · Ash-Shu'araa · 26:73
Or do they benefit you, or do they harm?"
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.
And His word: أَوْ يَنْفَعُونَكُمْ أَوْ يَضُرُّونَ (or do they bring you benefit or harm) — He says: Do these idols bring you benefit, such that they bestow something upon you as a reward for your worship of them, or do they harm you, such that they punish you for neglecting their worship by stripping you of your possessions or destroying you and your children, when you ruin yourselves and your children? قَالُوا بَلْ وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا كَذَلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ (They said: "Nay, but we found our fathers doing thus"). Something has been omitted from the text, the indication of what is mentioned being sufficient for what has been omitted — namely their answer to Ibrāhīm regarding his question: هَلْ يَسْمَعُونَكُمْ إِذْ تَدْعُونَ * أَوْ يَنْفَعُونَكُمْ أَوْ يَضُرُّونَ (Do they hear you when you call upon them? Or do they bring you benefit or harm?) — their answer to this was: "Nay, they do not hear us when we call upon them, and they bring us no benefit nor do they harm us" — which is indicated by the fact that they answered him thus.
