فَمَا ظَنُّكُمْ بِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿۸۷﴾ فَنَظَرَ نَظْرَةً فِي النُّجُومِ ﴿۸۸﴾ فَقَالَ إِنِّي سَقِيمٌ ﴿۸۹﴾ فَتَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ مُدْبِرِينَ ﴿۹۰﴾ فَرَاغَ إِلَى آلِهَتِهِمْ فَقَالَ أَلَا تَأْكُلُونَ ﴿۹۱﴾ مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَنْطِقُونَ ﴿۹۲﴾ فَرَاغَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضَرْبًا بِالْيَمِينِ ﴿۹۳﴾ فَأَقْبَلُوا إِلَيْهِ يَزِفُّونَ ﴿۹۴﴾

﴾87﴿ Famaa zannukum bi Rabbil'aalameen
﴾88﴿ Fanazara nazratan finnujoom
﴾89﴿ Faqaala innee saqeem
﴾90﴿ Fatawallaw 'anhu mudbireen
﴾91﴿ Faraagha ilaaa aalihatihim faqaala alaa taakuloon
﴾92﴿ Maa lakum laa tantiqoon
﴾93﴿ Faraagha 'alaihim darbam bilyameen
﴾94﴿ Fa aqbalooo ilaihi yaziffoon

﴾87﴿ So what is your thought about the Lord of the worlds
﴾88﴿ So he cast a glance at the stars
﴾89﴿ And he said, Surely, I am ill
﴾90﴿ So they turned away from him, departing
﴾91﴿ Then he secretly approached their idols and said, Do you not eat
﴾92﴿ What is the matter with you that you do not speak
﴾93﴿ So he began striking them with his right hand
﴾94﴿ So the people rushed towards him hastening

[87] Torture for shirk is not without reason; here are some explanations:
1. First, you assume that Allah, the Exalted, is incapable and has made a created being His partner.
2. The second explanation is: do you think that Allah, the Exalted, is of the same kind as creation, that you liken Him to creation?
3. The third explanation is by way of warning: what do you think of Allah, the Exalted, that you would die in a state of shirk and then go to meet Him?
[88,89,90] The meaning is that in refuting shirk, he (Abraham) used reasoning—once by reasoning through the stars, and its details have passed in Surah Al-An'am (6:76). Then he said, "I am sick," meaning that his heart is grieved because of their shirk. Or the meaning is that they invited him, saying, "It is the festival of our gods—come with us so that you accept our way." So he reflected on their various words and actions, seeking a pretext to remain behind from them, and said, "Indeed, I am ill." Or the meaning is that he looked at the stars with the intention of seeing them as signs of Allah's power, but they assumed that Abraham (peace be upon him) looked at the stars following their way. According to this last interpretation, the act was a practical tauriyah (deliberate ambiguity), and "Indeed, I am ill" was a verbal tauriyah.
[91,92] This mentions the striving of Abraham (peace be upon him) to refute shirk. That people used to place food before these deities so that it would become blessed, then they would take a little of it for themselves for blessing, and the rest would be left for those nearby. Abraham (peace be upon him), through these statements, proved that these idols can neither eat nor speak, and thus they are not worthy of worship. And although these statements were directed at the idols, the intent was to obligate and confront the polytheists.
[93] The meaning of (بِالْيَمِينِ) is the right hand, due to the fact that there is great strength in it. Or it means an oath, as mentioned in Surah Al-Anbiya (21:75), and in that case, bi is for causation (ba al-sababiyyah).
[94] (يَزِفُّونَ) means they came hastily toward Abraham (peace be upon him) after learning of the incident. Or the meaning is that they came with arrogance—the word is derived from zafāf (the bridal procession).