وَقَالَ الَّذِينَْ 889 الشعراء
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿۶۷﴾ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ ﴿۶۸﴾ وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ﴿۶۹﴾ إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِيهِ وَقَوْمِهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿۷۰﴾ قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ أَصْنَامًا فَنَظَلُّ لَهَا عَاكِفِينَ ﴿۷۱﴾ قَالَ هَلْ يَسْمَعُونَكُمْ إِذْ تَدْعُونَ ﴿۷۲﴾ أَوْ يَنْفَعُونَكُمْ أَوْ يَضُرُّونَ ﴿۷۳﴾ قَالُوا بَلْ وَجَدْنَا آبَاءَنَا كَذَلِكَ يَفْعَلُونَ ﴿۷۴﴾ قَالَ أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿۷۵﴾ أَنْتُمْ وَآبَاؤُكُمُ الْأَقْدَمُونَ ﴿۷۶﴾
﴾67﴿ Inna fee zaalika la Aayaah; wa maa kaana aksaru hu mu'mineen
﴾68﴿ Wa inna Rabbaka la Huwal 'Azeezur Raheem
﴾69﴿ Watlu 'alaihim naba-a Ibraaheem
﴾70﴿ Iz qaala li abeehi wa qawmihee maa ta'budoon
﴾71﴿ Qaaloo na'budu asnaaman fanazallu lahaa 'aakifeen
﴾72﴿ Qaala hal yasma'oona kum iz tad'oon
﴾73﴿ Aw yanfa'oonakum aw yadurroon
﴾74﴿ Qaaloo bal wajadnaaa aabaaa 'anaa kazaalika yaf'aloon
﴾75﴿ Qaala afara 'aitum maa kuntum ta'budoon
﴾76﴿ Antum wa aabaaa'ukumul aqdamoon
﴾67﴿ Indeed, in this, there is a lesson, but most of them are not believers
﴾68﴿ And indeed, your Lord is the All-Powerful, the Most Merciful
﴾69﴿ And convey to them the story of Abraham (peace be upon him)
﴾70﴿ When he said to his father and his people, What is it that you worship (and on what basis)
﴾71﴿ They said,
We worship idols (which are honored), and we remain devoted worshippers of them
﴾72﴿ He said, Do they hear you because you call them
﴾73﴿ Or can it benefit you or harm you
﴾74﴿ They said, Rather, we found our forefathers doing this
﴾75﴿ Abraham (peace be upon him) said, Are you aware of the state of those whom you worship
﴾76﴿ You and your forefathers before you
[67,68] This sentence is mentioned a second time in this surah, meaning that in this event, there is a lesson in Pharaoh. The pronoun in "aktharuhum" (most of them) refers either to the people of Pharaoh or to the present people.
[69] From this second story (of Ibrahim, peace be upon him) which begins and continues until verse 104, it is mentioned because the time of Musa (peace be upon him) was closer to this Ummah. In fact, his people, the Children of Israel, still existed and were addressed by the Qur'an, so his story was mentioned earlier in detail.
Then, because all the Jews, Christians, and Arab polytheists claimed affiliation with Ibrahim (peace be upon him), saying, “We are his descendants and we follow his religion,” now his story is mentioned, which contains a refutation of the polytheists along with conclusive proof.
It includes a description of the Lord by mentioning His attributes, and the supplications of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). It also contains a warning of the Hereafter for those who, in opposition to the Prophet, follow the scholars of the polytheists, their elders, and others.
And since this type of speech carries great significance and is comprehensive, it was referred to as "this Naba" (great news).
[70,71] By asking "mā", the intent is to inquire about the reason or justification for their worship—meaning, on what basis and proof do they worship them. The essence of their response is that these are spiritual centers of the elders and celestial bodies, and it is obligatory upon us to revere them.
As for "fa-naẓillu", it either means “we do this all the time”, or it refers specifically to the daytime—meaning, during the day we worship these idols, and at night we worship the stars, the sun, and the moon.
[72,73] The intent is that being great or being a star is not a quality of divinity. Rather, the attributes of divinity are the ability to hear and accept prayers, to give benefit and harm, and to have the power to ward off harm. Do these beings possess such attributes?
[74] They responded merely by imitation, saying that we have no proof except the imitation of our forefathers.
[75,76] The intent is that your worship and that of your forefathers cannot serve as proof or evidence.
As for "a-fa-ra’aytum", the point is: inform and reflect upon the state and helplessness of these deities. Mere worship by you and your forefathers is not a valid argument.