ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ
Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever feared.
Tafsir
Verse range: 17:57
أوليك الذين يدعون
Those whom they call upon, desire, Al-Bukhari recorded from Sulayman bin Mahran Al-A`mash, from Ibrahim, from Abu Ma`mar, from Abdullah:
أوليك الذين يدعون يبتغون إلى ربهم الوسيلة
Those whom they call upon, desire a means of access to their Lord, "Some of the Jinn used to be worshipped, then they became Muslims.'' According to another report: "Some humans used to worship some of the Jinn, then those Jinn became Muslim, but those humans adhered to their religion (of worshipping the Jinn).''
أيهم أقرب
as to which of them should be the nearest;
ويرجون رحمته ويخافون عذابه
they hope for His mercy and fear His torment. Worship cannot be complete or perfect unless it is accompanied by both fear and hope. Fear stops one from doing things that are forbidden, and hope makes one do more good deeds.
إن عذاب ربك كان محذورا
Verily, the torment of your Lord is (something) to be afraid of! meaning, one should beware of it and be afraid lest it happen. We seek refuge with Allah from that
