In this ongoing series titled “The Literary Elegance of the Noble Qur’an,” we have now looking into the 25th post.
To Him alone belongs the true supplication
In the Qur’an, when Allahﷻ conveys certain messages, He often clarifies them for us by presenting examples. Explaining truths through examples is itself one of the styles of literary expression. Among the examples Allahﷻ presents, there is a particularly important one found in Surah 13, verse 14.
Before understanding that example, we must first understand the context. People who are supposed to worship and pray only to Allahﷻ often end up worshipping and praying to others besides Him.
Those whom they worship or invoke are believed to possess powers similar to Allahﷻ — powers to fulfil all their needs and grant their requests. People assume that these beings have the ability to satisfy their desires.
Even those who are born as Muslims sometimes fall into such beliefs. And even the disbelievers of Makkah held similar beliefs. They acknowledged Allahﷻ’s existence, yet they also believed that other beings possessed certain powers and abilities.
To demonstrate that such beliefs are false, Allahﷻ presents a striking example.
What is that example?
Imagine a person who is thirsty. There is water in a container — perhaps in a bucket, a basin, or a vessel. If he wants to quench his thirst, he must reach into the container, scoop up the water with his hand, bring it to his mouth, and drink it. Only then will the water reach his mouth and satisfy his thirst.
But suppose someone does not go near the container at all. Instead, he simply stretches his hand toward it from a distance and thinks that the water will somehow reach his mouth on its own.
Will that water come to him? Of course not.
Even if he is thirsty, even if water is present, even if his hand is intact — if the water is one foot away or even one meter away, merely stretching his hand toward it without actually reaching the vessel will not bring the water to him. The water will never reach him like that.
Allahﷻ says that this is exactly the condition of those who call upon others besides Him. They raise their hands in prayer expecting something to come, but nothing will ever come. This is the example Allahﷻ presents in Surah Ar-Ra‘d (13:14).
The verse begins by declaring: “To Him alone belongs the true supplication.”
If a prayer is truly sincere and genuine, the only one worthy of receiving that prayer is Allahﷻ alone.
Then Allahﷻ says: those whom people call upon besides Him will never respond to them. They will never answer their prayers.
Their condition is like a person who stretches his hands toward water hoping it will reach his mouth — yet he never actually takes the water. In other words, he is deceiving himself. That is the example Allahﷻ gives to describe such prayers.
Now consider how help works between human beings.
Suppose I ask someone for one thousand rupees. If he takes the money from his pocket and hands it to me, and I receive it, then I truly receive that money.
But if I ask him for the money and he does nothing, and instead says, “It will reach you magically,” will it come? No.
When you request something from a human being, the one you ask must actually give it to you. Only then will you receive it. The only being who can grant something without visible means is Allahﷻ. Allahﷻ alone has the ability to provide help in ways that are unseen.
For example, if Allahﷻ decides to grant someone wealth, He does not break open the roof and drop money from the sky. Instead, He creates circumstances and opportunities through which wealth accumulates, often in ways the person cannot even trace. That kind of unseen assistance belongs only to Allahﷻ.
But when you seek help from human beings, their help must be visible.
If you go to a doctor for treatment, the doctor must examine you, give you medicine, administer an injection, or write a prescription. If he simply sits there and says, “Your stomach pain will go away magically,” the pain will not disappear.
Similarly, if you are hungry and someone places food on a plate, you must be given the opportunity to eat it. Only then will your hunger be satisfied.
Human help always involves action — movement, effort, and visible means. If someone gives you water, they must fill a cup and hand it to you. If someone lends you money, you must see him take it out and give it. That is how help between human beings works.
Now think about the people who go to the graves of saints and say: “Nagore Andavar, remove my hardship. Abdul Qadir Jilani, solve my problems. Ajmer Khwaja, relieve my distress.”
On what basis are they asking?
The person buried there has no movement at all. He does not stretch out his hand to give you anything. He lies silently in his grave. Yet people imagine that their request will somehow reach their mouth like water.
If someone in Nagore were to help you, first he must be alive. He must have the money you asked for. He must break open the grave, stretch out his hand, and give it to you — and you must receive it. If that happened, then perhaps your call would make sense.
But has anyone ever seen such movement from these graves?
Has anyone ever seen money emerge from them?
Has anyone seen them apply medicine to cure a disease?
Has anyone seen them perform surgery or place medicine into someone’s mouth?
Nothing like that ever happens. So Allahﷻ asks: how do you imagine that help comes?
Allahﷻ alone can accomplish things merely by issuing a command. When Allahﷻ decides something, He simply says “Be” (Kun) — and it becomes.
If Allahﷻ wills to remove your hardship, it disappears. If He wills to make you wealthy, you become wealthy. This ability belongs only to Allahﷻ. But when you ask someone else for help, if you truly believe he helps you, then he must help you in a way that is visible to you. Otherwise the help never came from him.
To illustrate this truth, Allahﷻ gives the example of water again.
You are thirsty. The water is there. But unless someone brings the vessel closer or you physically reach it, stretching your hand from a distance will never bring water to your mouth.
Similarly, many people call upon saints and say: “O great saint! O noble wali!”
When asked why they do this, they reply: “Don’t we go to doctors for treatment? Don’t we buy goods from merchants? Don’t we borrow money from friends when we are in difficulty? Just as humans help one another, we ask the saints for help.”
But this argument is completely foolish. Why?
Because when you seek help from a human being, you see how that help comes to you. You observe it with your own eyes. When you go to a doctor and say, “My stomach hurts,” he listens, examines you, diagnoses the illness, and treats you. You witness every step of the process with the five senses Allahﷻ has given you. But when you ask statues or dead people for help, when have you ever seen them helping you?
Did you ever witness the help coming from them?
Or are you merely imagining it? You are like the person who stretches his hand toward water believing it will reach his mouth by itself.
Allahﷻ says your action is no different from his.
Those whom you call do not hear you. They do not respond. They do not possess piles of money inside their graves to give you. You never see them handing anything to you.
Yet you believe they help you miraculously. But miraculous action belongs only to Allahﷻ. Allahﷻ says that when He intends something, He merely says “Be” — and it becomes. This power belongs only to Allahﷻ.
Yet instead of asking Allahﷻ, people go to graves, statues, and so-called saints expecting them to grant their requests.
How do they think these requests are fulfilled?
Do they believe the saint helps like a human?
Or do they believe he helps like God?
If they think he helps like a human, then he must come out of the grave and place gold into their hands. But that never happens. Instead, they believe he grants things through invisible mystical power — which is a power belonging only to Allahﷻ.
Even an ATM machine gives money in a way you can see. You insert the card, choose the amount, and the machine dispenses cash. You watch it happen with your eyes. But when people call upon stones, graves, animals, saints, and idols, has anyone ever seen them providing help?
They have already died. They cannot help themselves.
Yet people imagine that they help.
Then they say, “Don’t you ask doctors for help? Don’t you ask people for help?” Of course we do.
You may even ask a disbeliever for help if you know that he can provide it — and if he provides it in a visible, understandable way.
But calling upon the dead and expecting miracles from them is nothing but ignorance and delusion.
If you say that you did not make him a god, what does that mean? It means you have not elevated him to the status of God. But if, on the one hand, you acknowledge that Allahﷻ exists, and at the same time you believe that this person also possesses powers similar to those of Allahﷻ, then what does that become? Is that not exactly what you are thinking?
When people go to a dargah and call out, what do they think in their minds? They know very well that the person buried there died many years ago. Yet they stand there crying out, “Ya Qadir Wali!” They know that he passed away long ago. Why was he buried? Because he had died. And what is the meaning of death? When a human being dies, all of his deeds come to an end. His actions cease completely. Nothing continues for him in this world.
So when you know that this man has died, when you know there is no movement, when you know that his connection with this world has been completely cut off, how can you still call upon him for help? If you ask him for something, how is he supposed to give it to you?
But the person who asks believes in his heart that he will give just like Allahﷻ gives. That is exactly how he imagines it in his mind: “Just as God gives, this saint will give.”
And that is precisely what polytheism is. You may claim, “No, no, I did not make him a god.” But the moment you believe that he can give like God gives, you have already placed him in the position of God. You have not placed him in the position of a human being.
If you truly considered him a human being, then we would ask you a simple question: if you go to a grave and ask something, will the person break open the grave and stretch out his hand to give you what you asked for? If that were possible, I too would go there and ask and bring back what I need!
You clearly know how a human being gives help. If you believed that he gives help like a human being gives help, then there would be no problem. But do people think like that? Does anyone think that way? No. Instead, when they ask someone for help, they understand the difference very clearly.
Look at how human help works. When you ask help from a person, two things are necessary. First, the help must occur in a way that we can observe.
Second, there must be a connection between the two people within a certain distance.
Suppose I am sitting in my house, and the doctor’s house is five kilometers away. If I sit here and say, “Doctor, I have stomach pain,” will he treat me from there? At most I can call him on the phone. Through that connection he may give some medical advice. But he cannot give me medicine through the phone.
If you want treatment, you must go there and see him, and he must see you. Or at least there must be communication through one of the five senses. For example, when we speak on the phone, we communicate through hearing. I hear his voice and he hears mine.
But in the case of these graves, what connection do you have? You do not see his body. You do not hear his voice. None of your senses are connected with him. So when you ask him for help, how do you imagine he will respond? Through magic? But performing things through unseen magical power belongs only to Allahﷻ.
Consider how we ask help from a human being. When we seek help from a human, we understand his limitations. Imagine a doctor and ten patients waiting outside. Will all ten go inside together? Will the doctor call all ten at once? No. He calls them one by one.
If ten people walk in together and start shouting their problems — one saying “stomach pain,” another “headache,” another “fever,” another something else — will the doctor understand anything? Of course not.
He is only a human being. Even though he has two ears, he cannot listen to two conversations at the same time. Both ears together can only focus on one sound.
That is why people stand in queues where help is provided. Why do they stand in line? Because a human being can only receive one request at a time. He cannot process multiple requests simultaneously. That is why doctors give tokens and call patients one by one.
If ten people take tokens and rush in together shouting their problems, it will only become noise and confusion. Nothing will be understood.
So when asking help from a human being, we clearly understand his limitations. We know that he can only deal with one request at a time and cannot perform miracles.
But when it comes to these dead people — when it comes to stones, trees, or graves — how do you ask them for help? At the same time thousands of people ask them for things. One hundred people from Madurai ask. Fifty from Tiruchirappalli ask. A hundred from America ask. Ten from Saudi Arabia ask. All of them ask at the same moment.
Do you think he hears all of them?
Even if he were alive, could he do that? Imagine a so-called saint who is alive. If ten people shout their problems to him at once, will he not say, “Speak one at a time! I cannot understand anything”?
No human being — no matter how great he may be — has the ability to hear countless requests at once.
Yet when festivals happen at dargahs, thousands and even hundreds of thousands pray at the same time. If you think that all those prayers are heard simultaneously, then you are attributing a quality that belongs only to God.
That ability to hear all calls at once belongs only to Allahﷻ.
But look at what people believe: “If I ask him, he will give me a child. If I ask him, he will cure my illness. If I ask him, he will grant me a visa. If I ask him, he will give me a big house. If I ask him, he will remove my debts. If I ask him, he will remove my worries. If I ask him for rain, he will bring rain.”
How can he give these things?
Only someone who possesses divine power — the ability to act without any material means — could do such things. That power belongs only to Allahﷻ.
What is a miracle? It is the ability to produce something from nothing. Humans do not have that power. Allahﷻ alone has it. Allahﷻ does not require materials or tools. A single command from Him is enough, and the matter is done.
That is why Allahﷻ gives a powerful example in the Qur’an. He says: “True supplication belongs only to Him.” If you are going to pray, you must pray only to Allahﷻ.
Those whom people call upon besides Him do not answer them at all. Did they ever respond to you? Did their ears hear your call? Did their hands stretch out to give you what you asked for?
Allahﷻ says their condition is like a person who stretches his hands toward water, hoping it will reach his mouth — but without actually taking the water in his hands. Just stretching his hand toward the water will never quench his thirst. In the same way, calling upon others besides Allahﷻ is completely useless. Allahﷻ explains this clearly in Qur’an 13:14.
Then Allahﷻ gives further arguments in many other verses. Some people say, “We ask the saints and they ask Allahﷻ on our behalf.” Even if that claim is made, let us ask a basic question first: when you call them, do they even hear you?
If they hear you, let them answer in a way that you can understand. If you say they give help, let them give it in a way that is visible. If something is given visibly, it is human action. If something is given invisibly, then you are claiming divine action.
They cannot even help themselves
That is why Allahﷻ exposes this false belief in the Qur’an. In Surah Al-A‘raf 7:191-195, Allahﷻ asks: “Do they associate partners with Me who create nothing while they themselves are created?”
Take any of these so-called saints — Abdul Qadir Jilani, Nagore Andavar, Ajmer saints. What did they create? Did they create an ant? A fly? An elephant? A horse? Nothing.
They themselves were created. They were born to parents. Before their birth they did not exist. Yet you go to their graves and ask them for help.
Allahﷻ says they cannot help you. They cannot even help themselves.
If you call them for guidance, they cannot follow you or guide you. Calling them or remaining silent is the same. They bring no benefit. Allahﷻ says those whom you call besides Him are servants like you. Even the greatest human beings — including the Prophetﷺs — are servants of Allahﷻ.
Then Allahﷻ challenges: Call them! Let them respond if you are truthful.
Do they have legs to walk with? Hands to grasp with? Eyes to see with? Ears to hear with?
They do not. Allahﷻ says: “Call your partners and plot against Me if you can — give Me no respite!”
This is a powerful challenge.
If those whom you worship truly have power, let them harm the one who speaks against them. Let them blind him, silence him, or paralyze him. But nothing happens.
Why? Because they have no power at all.
Calling them is like stretching your hand toward water without taking it. It is a foolish act. People call stones, trees, graves, the sun — yet none of them ever respond.
So Allahﷻ asks: Why do you call them?
Look at how beautifully and rationally Allahﷻ presents these arguments.
You call upon a tree, yet no reply comes.
You call upon the sun, yet no response comes from there.
You call upon a dead body, yet no answer reaches you.
Then why do you call them at all?
Allahﷻ asks this question. Look at how beautifully and rationally Allahﷻ presents these arguments.
When will they be resurrected from their graves?
Likewise, look at how Allahﷻ explains the falseness of such beliefs in Surah An-Nahl (16:20–21). Allahﷻ says that those whom you call besides Him create nothing at all; rather, they themselves are created beings. Not only that — Allahﷻ says they are dead bodies. They are not alive.
Whom are you calling? All of them are corpses. In Arabic the word used is “mayyit”, and in Tamil that means a dead body. They are dead corpses. Allahﷻ says they are not alive. Those saints you call — all of them have already died. They are not living beings.
Furthermore, Allahﷻ says they do not even know when they themselves will be resurrected from their graves.
You claim they are saints who will help you. Leave aside whether they will help you or not — do they even know when Allahﷻ will resurrect them from their graves?
Neither you nor they know that. Only Allahﷻ knows when the Trumpet will be blown and the dead will be raised.
Do those buried in graves know the date?
Do they know when they will be resurrected?
They do not know.
Then Allahﷻ provides additional verses reinforcing this example.
For example, Allahﷻ says in Surah Saba (34:22): Call upon those whom you claim besides Allahﷻ — they possess not even the weight of an atom of authority in the heavens or the earth.
Leave aside great and tremendous acts — they cannot even give you a single coin.
Can they give you one paisa? They cannot.
Can they give you even a mustard seed? They cannot.
They have no authority whatsoever, even as small as a mustard seed. They possess no share in the heavens or the earth. When Allahﷻ created the heavens and earth, did He divide portions and say: “This part belongs to you”?
No. They have no share at all in the heavens or the earth. And Allahﷻ also says that none of them can assist Him.
Thus the Qur’an makes it clear that those you call besides Allahﷻ have no power and no authority.
Therefore, we must understand something very simple: Whenever you call upon anyone other than Allahﷻ, it is obvious to your own eyes that no reply ever comes from them.
Allahﷻ has given you five senses. You are supposed to believe using those senses. And beyond that, you are supposed to reflect using your sixth faculty — your intellect.
Through which of these senses have you ever perceived their help?
Did you see their help with your eyes?
Did you hear them speak with your ears?
Did you touch their actions with your hands?
Did you taste or experience anything through your senses?
And if you think logically, will reason ever tell you that a dead person has power?
No. Reason clearly tells you that a dead person has no power at all.
So if this belief does not fit within any of the six faculties of human understanding, why do you imagine that something nonexistent actually exists?
If there is anything beyond human comprehension, then only the One who created you and gave you your intelligence can possess that power. Only Allahﷻ can do things beyond human understanding. But to attribute such power to created beings is completely wrong.
All idols of Prophets be destroyed
Then some people raise another argument.
They say: “The disbelievers of Makkah worshipped idols, but we worship saints.”
They present this argument to justify themselves. They say the Makkans worshipped stones and imaginary figures, whereas we worship great saints. But if you talk about great personalities, who could be greater than Prophet Ibrahim (Alahis Salam)? Yet even the idolaters of Makkah had placed statues of Prophet Ibrahim and Prophet Ismail inside the Ka‘bah.
This is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 1601.
When the Prophetﷺ conquered Makkah and entered the Ka‘bah, he found many idols inside it. Among them were statues of Ibrahim and Ismail (Alahimus Salam), depicted holding divination arrows used for fortune-telling.
What did the Prophetﷺ do?
Did he say, “Leave those two idols; they represent noble Prophetﷺs”?
No. He commanded that all idols be removed and destroyed.
He even said: “May Allahﷻ destroy them.”
Every single idol was smashed. If the distinction between “good people” and “imaginary idols” mattered, the Prophetﷺ could have said: “Leave the statues of Ibrahim, Ismail, Musa, and Isa, but destroy the others.”
But he did not say that. He ordered that all idols be destroyed.
Therefore, this concept — that worshipping saints is different from idol worship — has no place in Islam. Some Christians venerated Maryam (Alahas Salam) and made statues of her. The idolaters copied that idea.
Inside the Ka‘bah there were statues of Ibrahim, Ismail, and Maryam.
This is reported in Bukhari 3351. When the Prophetﷺ entered the Ka‘bah he saw those images and condemned their misuse. From this we understand that worshipping saints and worshipping idols are the same in principle.
To help you understand, let me give a strong example.
A man has a wife. He believes that his wife should belong only to him.
Would he say: “If it’s my friend, it’s okay; go to him”? Or “If it’s my brother, it’s fine”?
Would any honorable man share his wife like that?
No. If a man insists that his wife belongs only to him, how could Allahﷻ allow His exclusive right of worship to be shared with others?
Worship belongs only to Allahﷻ. Just as no husband accepts sharing his wife, Allahﷻ does not accept anyone sharing His right of worship. Then consider the final warnings of the Prophetﷺ. Five days before his death, while suffering from severe illness, he could not even lead the prayer. Abu Bakr was leading the prayer.
In that painful state, approaching death, the Prophetﷺ declared: “May Allahﷻ curse the Jews and Christians, for they turned the graves of their Prophets into places of worship.”
This was his final warning. Aisha (Mother of Believers) narrated that if the Prophetﷺ had not given such a strong warning, people might have turned his grave into a shrine. That is why his grave was not elevated like shrines. From this we understand something clearly:
Islam does not permit placing even righteous people in the position of worship.
Whether someone worships a good person or a bad person — it is still shirk. If someone worships Murugan or worships Abdul Qadir Jilani, in the sight of Allahﷻ it is the same. It is like a man whose wife goes to another man — whether that man is Kandasamy or Abdul Qadir, the betrayal is the same.
Likewise, Allahﷻ does not look at who is being worshipped. The act of worshipping someone besides Him itself is the crime. And Allahﷻ has far greater rights than any husband. You did not create your wife. Yet you claim exclusive rights over her.
Then how much greater is the right of the Creator who created you?
If you accept that Allahﷻ is the Creator, how can you place anyone beside Him?
You would not accept anyone sharing your own rights — so how can Allahﷻ accept someone sharing His?
Allahﷻ will not accept even a Prophetﷺ, a saint, or an angel being placed beside Him. Allahﷻ is extremely jealous regarding His right of worship. The Prophetﷺ also explained that earlier communities, when a righteous man died, would build a place of worship over his grave and create images of him.
Some Jews made statues. Some Christians built shrines over graves.
The Prophetﷺ ﷺ said such people are the worst of creation in the sight of Allahﷻ.
So, when we look at all these teachings together, we understand the example Allahﷻ gave earlier: If you want water, ask the one who can give you water. If he pours it into your mouth, then you will receive it.
But if he refuses to pour it, will stretching your hand make the water reach your mouth? No.
Likewise, the gods people worship gives nothing.
You yourselves place money in the donation box, yet the deity has never given you even a single coin. You have never seen any response from them. You have no evidence from sight, hearing, reasoning, or experience. Yet you imagine that they help you.
How foolish is that? Is this Islam?
The Prophetﷺ ﷺ came precisely to destroy such practices — the grave worship of the Jews and the idol worship of others.
Even the idolaters of Makkah did not believe their idols were gods equal to Allahﷻ. They believed those idols would intercede with Allahﷻ on their behalf. And that is exactly what many people today also claim. Then they present another example to justify it.
They say: “When we are taken to court, we appoint a lawyer. The lawyer argues on our behalf before the judge. Similarly, saints argue on our behalf before Allahﷻ.”
But this comparison is completely absurd. If you want to justify something religiously, bring a verse from the Qur’an or a hadith as evidence.
Why bring a courtroom example?
Allahﷻ cannot be compared to a human judge. A human judge does not know who committed the crime. He must hear arguments, evidence, and testimony. That is why lawyers are needed.
But does Allahﷻ need someone to explain your case to Him? Does Allahﷻ not know what you did?
Will Allahﷻ ask: “Who is this new person? Bring someone who knows him”?
Is that how they imagine Allahﷻ? They reduce Allahﷻ to the level of a human judge with limited knowledge.
But Allahﷻ already knows everything. If Allahﷻ were truly like the all-knowing judge they claim, then lawyers would be unnecessary. Allahﷻ knows who is guilty and who is innocent. To claim that Allahﷻ needs someone to inform Him is nothing but blatant disbelief.
That is the reality. Intercession in Islam exists only in the sense that Allahﷻ Himself permits it after deciding the matter — it does not change the destiny of a person.
Therefore, using courtroom examples to justify saint-worship is completely false.
How can we go directly before Allahﷻ
Similarly, people bring another example — the example of a lawyer.
They say: “We need someone to approach Allahﷻ on our behalf. We human beings commit many sins. Because we commit so many sins, how can we go directly before Allahﷻ?”
Think about it. Suppose you commit a mistake at home. If your father sees the mistake you made, you might hide from him. If he discovers what you did wrong, you might avoid him out of fear. You may sleep before he comes home, or you may wait until he leaves the house before you enter, because you feel ashamed and afraid to face him.
In the same way, people say: “We commit so many sins before Allahﷻ. With what face can we go and ask Him directly?”
Because of that thought, they give another example.
They say that when someone wants to get something from the father, he might approach the mother first. The mother then speaks gently to the father and obtains what the child wanted. Similarly, since we have committed many sins and Allahﷻ may be angry with us, if we speak to these saints, they will speak kindly to Allahﷻ and obtain what we need.
Look at how foolish this idea is. Is this saint more merciful than Allahﷻ? Allahﷻ Himself is the most merciful. If you ask Him for forgiveness, He will forgive you. Yet people go and call upon someone else instead.
What are they trying to say?
On the one hand they call Allahﷻ Ar-Rahman — the One of limitless mercy. Yet on the other hand they claim that this saint is more compassionate, more merciful, and that he will gently speak to Allahﷻ on their behalf.
Is Allahﷻ like a naive husband whom someone’s wife can deceive to get something for the child?
- Does Allahﷻ not possess knowledge?
- Does Allahﷻ not possess mercy?
- Does Allahﷻ not possess compassion?
Allahﷻ Himself says in the Qur’an: “O My servants who have wronged themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allahﷻ.”
Look carefully at whom Allahﷻ calls in this verse. He does not call the righteous people.
He calls those who committed sins. He calls— the servants who stole,committed murder and adultery, who lied and who spread slander
Allahﷻ calls them and says: “O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allahﷻ.” Do not think, “We have committed sins, Allahﷻ will never forgive us, we must bring someone else to approach Him.”
Allahﷻ says: “Indeed, I forgive all sins.”
From this verse, what do we understand? You do not need to bring anyone else with you.
Allahﷻ Himself says: “I am the Most Merciful.”
Allahﷻ’s mercy toward His servants is far greater — many times greater — than even the mercy a mother shows to her child.
Yet people recite Surah Al-Fatiha every day, repeatedly saying: “Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem” — the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
But after saying that, they behave as though Allahﷻ is not the most merciful — as though these saints are the truly merciful ones. They imagine that these saints are the ones who will kindly speak to Allahﷻ and obtain things for them.
It is precisely to destroy such thinking that Allahﷻ presents a beautiful example in the verse mentioned earlier. Look again at that verse. Within that single verse lies the entire argument.
Allahﷻ says: “True supplication belongs only to Him.”
Prayer belongs only to Allahﷻ. Those whom you call besides Him will never respond to you — neither with words nor with material help. They will never give you any reply.
What are those people like?
They are like someone who stretches out his hand toward water without actually taking it, thinking that the water will reach his mouth. What a remarkable example Allahﷻ gives. These people clearly know that when they call upon saints, stones, or trees, no response ever comes. They know this. Yet they still continue doing it.
What difference is there between this behaviour and madness?
If a thirsty person simply stretches his hand into the air expecting water to come to his mouth, everyone would call him insane.
If you want water, you must go to the one who has it. You must take it in your hand and bring it to your mouth. Only then will you be considered intelligent.
But if someone says, “I am thirsty,” and simply stretches his hand into the air expecting water to come, what would we call such a person? We would say he has lost his mind.
Allahﷻ says that the condition of those who call upon saints, stones, or trees is exactly like that. Through this example, Allahﷻ concludes the argument. Even though we examined only a single verse today, because it contains such a powerful and necessary example, we conclude the discussion here today.
In shā’ Allāh, we will continue the remaining discussion in the upcoming posts.