قَالَ لَقَدْ كُنْتُمْ أَنْتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُمْ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ﴿۵۴﴾ قَالُوا أَجِئْتَنَا بِالْحَقِّ أَمْ أَنْتَ مِنَ اللَّاعِبِينَ ﴿۵۵﴾ قَالَ بَلْ رَبُّكُمْ رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الَّذِي فَطَرَهُنَّ وَأَنَا عَلَى ذَلِكُمْ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ ﴿۵۶﴾ وَتَاللَّهِ لَأَكِيدَنَّ أَصْنَامَكُمْ بَعْدَ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا مُدْبِرِينَ ﴿۵۷﴾ فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَاذًا إِلَّا كَبِيرًا لَهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُونَ ﴿۵۸﴾

﴾54﴿ Qaala laqad kuntum antum wa aabaaa'ukum fee dalaalin mubeen
﴾55﴿ Qaalooo aji'tanaa bil haqqi am anta minal laa'ibeen
﴾56﴿ Qaala bar Rabbukum Rabbus samaawaati wal ardil lazee fatarahunna wa ana 'alaa zaalikum minash shaahideen
﴾57﴿ Wa tallaahi la akeedanna asnaamakum ba'da an tuwalloo mudbireen
﴾58﴿ Faja'alahum juzaazan illaa kabeeral lahum la'allahum ilaihi yarji'oon

﴾54﴿ Abraham (peace be upon him) said, Surely, you and your fathers have been in clear misguidance
﴾55﴿ They said, Have you brought us the truth, or are you one of those who joke
﴾56﴿ He said, Rather, your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the One who created them from the beginning, and I am among those who bear witness to this
﴾57﴿ And by Allah, I will surely plan against your idols after you have turned away and departed
﴾58﴿ So he broke them into pieces, except for the largest one, so that they might return to it (for answers)

[54] The word antum (you) indicates that along with the false imitation, the followers themselves also went astray—so imitation is not a means of salvation.
Ibn Kathīr said: the essence of the argument is that we ask for proof from your forefathers just as we ask it from you.
[55] That is, are you speaking based on evidence, or are you speaking nonsense (without proof)?
Meaning: show us the evidence for what you claim.
[56] That is, I possess evidence for the oneness of Allah the Exalted.
First, He is the Owner of the heavens and the earth.
Second, He is their Creator.
And the Tawḥīd of Rubūbiyyah (Lordship) logically and religiously necessitates Tawḥīd of Ulūhiyyah (Worship).
The meaning of ash-shāhidīn is: one who presents and clarifies the truth with evidence.
[57] Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), after delivering a verbal call to Tawḥīd, moved on to practical struggle (mujāhada), due to his deep trust in Allah the Exalted and his intense zeal for the religion.
Another possible reason is that his people were completely unresponsive to his preaching, so he took this action to draw their attention, hoping to make them reflect seriously on Tawḥīd.
This interpretation is also supported by the next verse: ilayhi yarji‘ūn (so they might return to him)—meaning return with attention and reflection.
This plan of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) was spoken privately to himself—or perhaps some among them overheard him.
The meaning of mudbirīn is that they went off for their own event or gathering, leaving the shrines of their idols empty.
This was because they had gone to attend their annual festival or gathering, and Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) stayed behind, using the excuse of being sick.
[58] Some parts of this incident are also mentioned in Surah As-Saffāt.
The word kabīran (the biggest) indicates that they had made their idols in varying sizes—some small, some large—or that they believed some were responsible for minor matters and others for fulfilling major needs.
La‘allahum ilayhi yarji‘ūn has two possible meanings:
1. Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) did this so they might return to his religion or at least listen to his message.
2. He left the big idol so they would return to it and question it—thus exposing their ignorance and the futility of their beliefs.