وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَمَا لَيْسَ لَهُمْ بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ نَصِيرٍ ﴿۷۱﴾ وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ تَعْرِفُ فِي وُجُوهِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الْمُنْكَرَ يَكَادُونَ يَسْطُونَ بِالَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِنَا قُلْ أَفَأُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِشَرٍّ مِنْ ذَلِكُمُ النَّارُ وَعَدَهَا اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿۷۲﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَنْ يَخْلُقُوا ذُبَابًا وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ وَإِنْ يَسْلُبْهُمُ الذُّبَابُ شَيْئًا لَا يَسْتَنْقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ ﴿۷۳﴾

﴾71﴿ Wa ya'budoona min doonil laahi maa lam yunazzil bihee sultaananw wa maa laisa lahum bihee 'ilm; wa maa lizzaalimeena min naseer
﴾72﴿ Wa izaa tutlaa 'alaihim Aayaatunaa baiyinaatin ta'rifu fee wujoohil lazeena kafarul munkara yakaadoona yastoona bil lazeena yatloona 'alaihim Aayaatinaa; qul afa unab bi'ukum bisharrim min zaalikum; an Naaru wa 'adahal laahul lazeena kafaroo wa bi'sal maseer
﴾73﴿ Yaaa ayyuhan naasu duriba masalun fastami'oo lah; innal lazeena tad'oona min doonil laahi lai yakhluqoo zubaabanw wa lawijtama'oo lahoo wa iny yaslub humuz zubaabu shai'an laa yastanqizoohu minh; da'ufat taalibu wal matloob

﴾71﴿ And they worship besides Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and that of which they have no knowledge. And the wrongdoers will have no helper
﴾72﴿ And when Our verses are recited to them clearly, you recognize in the faces of those who disbelieve denial; they are almost on the verge of attacking those who recite Our verses to them. Say, Shall I inform you of something worse than that? It is the Fire which Allah has promised to those who disbelieve, and what an evil destination it is
﴾73﴿ O mankind, a parable is set forth, so listen to it: Indeed, those whom you invoke besides Allah will never create [even] a fly, even if they all come together for it. And if the fly should snatch away something from them, they could not recover it from it. Weak are the seeker and the sought

[71] This verse is a rebuke against shirk in worship.
It emphasizes that polytheists have neither revealed proof nor rational evidence for their actions.
Therefore, such worship is labeled as injustice (ẓulm)—because it is without basis and against divine right.
[72] This verse is a rebuke to those who deny the Qur'an.
It means they have no valid evidence, and when the Qur'an is recited to them as a proof of monotheism, they become grieved and angry.
They are so enraged by the clear words of the Qur'an that they are nearly ready to attack the one who recites it, in an attempt to silence him.
The phrase “بِشَرٍّ” implies: You say that this Qur'an is evil for you—but worse than this so-called evil is the fire of Hell, which is prepared for those who try to prevent the message of the Qur'an.
[73] This verse addresses the situation where the disbelievers create uproar and argument during the recitation of the Qur’an and refuse to listen. It instructs the Prophet to say to them: do not argue—listen quietly, because an amazing example is about to be presented.
The mention of the fly (ذُبَاب) is either a representation of all creation, or it serves as a unique illustrative example.
The essence is: all false deities besides Allah—whether they are so-called saints or idols—are completely powerless.
Even a fly, which is a frail and incomplete creature, cannot be created by all of them combined. In fact, if a fly takes away something from their offerings, they are unable to retrieve it.
This shows that these supposed gods neither have the power to create nor the ability to defend or protect themselves.
How then can such powerless beings fulfill anyone's needs?
Note: The fly (ذُبَاب) is specifically mentioned for several reasons:
1. In the shrines of false gods, there are abundant food offerings, sweets, and drinks made as vows—flies swarm over these offerings.
2. The fly’s body has fewer organs than even a mosquito. If they cannot create a creature with fewer parts, how can they create one with more? That is why such places are often filled with the ill, blind, crippled, and paralyzed—but the so-called saints cannot even heal them, let alone fulfill others’ needs.
3. According to Hayāt al-Ḥayawān, the fly is among the most ignorant creatures of Allah. So, even if a shameless fly lands on their offerings, these false deities cannot defend against it or rescue what it takes.
“الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ” has two interpretations: – According to Ibn Jarīr, the seeker (طالب) is the idol, and the sought (مطلوب) is the fly. – The second view is that the seeker is the worshipper, and the sought is the false god being worshipped besides Allah.