أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ أَفَأَنْتَ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ وَكِيلًا ﴿۴۳﴾ أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا ﴿۴۴﴾ أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ وَلَوْ شَاءَ لَجَعَلَهُ سَاكِنًا ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا الشَّمْسَ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلًا ﴿۴۵﴾ ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا ﴿۴۶﴾

﴾43﴿ Ara'aita manit takhaza ilaahahoo hawaahu afa anta takoonu 'alaihi wakeelaa
﴾44﴿ Am tahsabu anna aksarahum yasma'oona aw ya'qiloon; in hum illaa kal an'aami bal hum adallu sabeelaa
﴾45﴿ Alam tara ilaa Rabbika kaifa maddaz zilla wa law shaaa'a la ja'alahoo saakinan thumma ja'alnash shamsa 'alaihi daleelaa
﴾46﴿ Thumma qabadnaahu ilainaa qabdany yaseeraa

﴾43﴿ Have you seen the one who takes his own desires as his god, Will you then be a guardian over him
﴾44﴿ Do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are not but like cattle; rather, they are even more astray from the path
﴾45﴿ Do they not see their Lord, how He extends the shadow, And if Allah willed, He could have made it stationary. Then We made the sun an indication of it
﴾46﴿ Then We gradually draw it back to Ourselves, a gradual withdrawal

[43] This is a rebuke for following desires, and a consolation to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
“Takes his desire as his god” means they make their objects of worship based on their own desires—when a person’s heart becomes attached to someone in the grave, he begins to worship him. Or when someone becomes attached to a living poor spiritual figure, a tree, or an idol, he turns it into a deity.
There is no legitimate proof for the divinity of anyone other than Allah. In this meaning, “his god” is the first object, and “his desire” is the second.
The second meaning is that he obeys his desires in the same way one should obey Allah and His Messenger, abandoning divine obedience—thus committing shirk in obedience. This is seen among materialists, innovators, and sinners, each of whom, in different ways, obey their desires.
They have made their desires into a god—in this meaning, the second object precedes the first. A similar verse is found in Surah Al-Jathiyah (45:23).
“So will you be a guardian over him?” means you are not responsible for their guidance, nor are you accountable for them.
[44] This too is a rebuke to the deniers and a consolation to the Prophet—meaning, these deniers neither accept the truth nor reflect upon it.
Their state is like that of cattle—they have ears and hearts, but they cannot use them to listen, accept, or distinguish between truth and falsehood.
They eat and drink, but have no concern for the Hereafter.
"More astray in path" means they are even more ignorant, because although animals do not recognize Tawhid and Prophethood, they do not deny them either.
Also, animals recognize their owner and follow him, while these polytheists are heedless of their true Owner and rebellious.
The phrase "most of them" is used because some among them eventually do believe.
[45,46] He mentions these rational arguments for the claim of "tabāruk" (blessedness).
In each argument, he mentions two things (i.e., the workings of Allah the Exalted), and in each argument, he mentions the benefits and virtues (blessings) of things.
In this context, he refers to both shadow and sunlight, and in both, he mentions the divine control.
"Madda al-ẓill" means the time from morning until sunset.
Ẓill refers to the shadow before noon, and fay’ refers to the shadow after noon.
"Lajaʿalahu sākina" means: He would not have caused the sun to rise, and thus the shadow would always remain.
However, the rising of the sun is the reason that the shadow becomes known—if there were no sun, no one would recognize the shadow.
This proves the well-known saying that a thing becomes known through its opposite.
As the sun rises higher, the shadow gradually shortens—this is referred to as qabd yasīr (a slight contraction).
"Dalīlan" (as a masculine noun) is used here because what is meant by shams (the sun) is its rising.