وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا 241 الأنعام
وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا صُمٌّ وَبُكْمٌ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ مَنْ يَشَإِ اللَّهُ يُضْلِلْهُ وَمَنْ يَشَأْ يَجْعَلْهُ عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ ﴿۳۹﴾ قُلْ أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَاكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَتَتْكُمُ السَّاعَةُ أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَدْعُونَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿۴۰﴾ بَلْ إِيَّاهُ تَدْعُونَ فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنْ شَاءَ وَتَنْسَوْنَ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ ﴿۴۱﴾
﴾39﴿ Wallazeena kazzaboo bi Aayaatinaa summunw wa bukmun fiz zulumaat; mai yasha il laahu yudlillhu; wa mai yashaa yaj'alhu 'alaa Siraatim Mustaqeem
﴾41﴿ Bal iyyaahu tad'oona fa yakshifu maa tad'oona ilaihi in shaaa'a wa tansawna maa tushrikoon
﴾39﴿ And those who deny Our revelations, they are deef dumb, they are in darkness, Whoever wants Allah Almighty to lead him astray and whoever wants Allah Almighty to firmly guide him to the right path
﴾40﴿ Say: Inform me if the punishment of Allah Almighty comes to you or the Hereafter (or death) comes to you Do you call upon other gods besides Allah, if you are truthful (who deserve to be asked)
﴾41﴿ Rather, you call upon Allah, the Exalted, so He repels (the task) what you pray to repel If Allah Almighty wills And you forget what you used to share with Allah Almighty
[39] This is a warning: animals and birds are guided toward what benefits them, yet the disbelievers do not accept guidance.
In the previous verse, the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, was mentioned—so in this verse, His all-encompassing will (mashī’ah) is highlighted.
(Fī al-ẓulumāt) – the fact that it is not connected (in grammatical construction) indicates that being merely deaf and mute (ṣummun wa bukmun) is not the only reason they are misguided.
Rather, their entry into various layers of darkness (ignorance, disbelief, stubbornness) further deepens their misguidance.
[40] In this verse, there is another rational proof and a refutation of shirk fī ad-du‘ā (associating partners with Allah in supplication).
It highlights the ignorance of the polytheists: despite the fact that in times of hardship they call solely upon Allah, the Exalted, they still associate others with Him afterward.
This is similar to what is mentioned in Surah Yunus (10:22) and Surah Al-Isra (17:67).
(A-ra’aytakum) – the hamzah is for rhetorical amazement, and ra’ayta means "Did you see?" or "Do you realize?" in the sense of abṣarta (have you seen?) or ʿarafta (have you known?).
Its object is omitted, and tā is the subject pronoun, while kum is the second-person plural addressed, not requiring grammatical parsing—it's for indicating the state.
The meaning is: “Have you understood or noticed this strange condition? Then inform me about it.”
(Ṣādiqīn) – refers to whether they (the idols) are truly divine (ālihah) as you claim.
[41] From this it becomes clear that even the polytheists, in certain situations, call upon Allah, the Exalted, and say “help us” or make supplications to Him.
(Iyyāhu tadʿūn) – means: “You call upon Him alone”—exclusively, as in other verses where the phrase mukhlisīn (sincere in faith) is used, such as in Surah Yā Sīn (36:22).
(Fayakshif) – indicates that Allah, the Exalted, sometimes accepts the supplication of a polytheist due to their helplessness and desperation, but this is as a form of test and trial for them.