Tafseer of Consultation · Ash-Shura · 42:21
Or have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allah has not consented? But if not for the decisive word, it would have been concluded between them. And indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment.
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 statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ وَلَوْلا كَلِمَةُ الْفَصْلِ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (21) (Or do they have associate-deities who have prescribed for them a religion for which Allah has not given permission? And were it not for the word of decision, judgment would already have been passed between them; and verily, for the wrongdoers there is a painful punishment) (21).
The Exalted, Whose mention is exalted, says: Or do these polytheists who ascribe associates to Allah (mushrikīn) have associate-deities in their polytheism and their misguidance شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ (who have prescribed for them a religion for which Allah has not given permission)? He says: who have invented for them, as religion, what Allah has not permitted them to invent. وَلَوْلا كَلِمَةُ الْفَصْلِ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ (And were it not for the word of decision, judgment would already have been passed between them). The Exalted, Whose mention is exalted, says: and were it not for what has been pre-ordained by Allah, namely that He does not hasten the punishment for them in this worldly life, and that His saying has gone forth that their punishment is deferred until the coming of the Hour, He would already have completed the judgment between you and them by hastening the punishment for them in this worldly life. But for them, in the Hereafter, there is the painful punishment, as He, praised be His praise, says: وَإِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ (and verily, for the wrongdoers there is a painful punishment). He says: and verily, the disbelievers in Allah, for them on the Day of Resurrection there is a painful, agonizing punishment.
